Belonging
by ms.reed92
Summary: Stella always knew that she didn't belong in this world. When she ends up in Middle-Earth she finds people that care about her and even a love interest. She finally finds where she belongs. 10th walker. Aragorn/OC
1. Lost and Found

"I thought university was supposed to be a time for me to learn more about myself and have fun!" she exclaimed exasperatedly into the phone, "it's not my fault the professor is a nimrod that can't remember my name" she continued to grouse. "Mom, I just don't think I'm meant to be here, I really just want to go home" the line was silent.

There was a long pause before her mother sighed, "If that's what you want, but honey even when you were here you weren't happy and what about your father?" Stella had already thought about the strained relationship she had with her father she didn't want to go home to him, and if she were perfectly honest with herself she didn't even really want to go home, all she really knew is that she didn't want to be here.

"I don't want to go home, I just have nowhere else to go Mom! I can move out as soon as possible, I'll get a job and be on my own I just can't stand the people here, you know someone called me a Yank the other day! I don't even think California was a state much less involved in the Civil war."

She was shouting now and she knew why, before she had moved to this Podunk town for school she had defended the Civil war, claiming that the divers behind the southern insistence on slaves had been economical, comparing the actions of states like the one she was living in now to the current use of child labour used only three hours south of where she was born. Once Stella had moved to this small town in southwest Virginia it became clear that she didn't fit in, her lack of accent immediately identified her as the other and regardless of how hard she tried the people here weren't accepting.

"Sweetheart if you want to come home that's fine, I just want you to be happy." Her mother emphasized, Stella understood her mother had always wanted her to be happy and after 18 years of not being happy she thought this would make her happy, living away from home around the horses and nature Stella had always craved. But Stella wasn't happy and she knew that it was incredibly expensive for her family to have her here, better to go home and figure out what she wanted to do with her life rather than waste their money doing what she knew she didn't want to do.

As the conversation came to a natural end they said goodbye, her mother promising to look for flights for the end of the semester. Stella looked out the window, it was a beautiful day the sun was bright and reflected the new leaves in the trees perfectly, and everything looked soft. Stella knew that she was going to miss this part; this amazing beauty just wasn't a part of her life in California. Los Angeles was a mecca for fashion, celebrities, and beaches, but it couldn't offer this type of serenity. Her horses liked it better here and she was able to spend more time with them. Still Stella couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't where she was supposed to be.

She decided to go for a walk and maybe read a book, she changed out of the black pencil skirt and silk blouse she was wearing and into a soft green cotton shirt and riding pants and filled her old beaten knapsack with a blanket, book, and a few apples she nicked from the cafeteria. She walked out of the dorm and headed up to the barns, more out of habit than intention. About ten minutes into her walk she decided that she would head into the surrounding woods and find a nice place to think. She had only ever been there once before with one of her classes, but remembered that there was a small stream that ran by a meadow relatively close to campus.

Despite getting lost twice and totally turned around at least once she found the place she remembered, although even her most vivid memories of this place did not do it justice. With all of the rain recently the meadow was overgrown with wild flowers, and the small stream she remembered had transformed to a river. It was beautiful and it was all hers, she lay out her blanket and grabbed her book, content to just sit and read for the time. Eventually it became too dark to read comfortably and too cold to just sit still, she dragged herself up and back to campus reluctant to start the day again tomorrow.

She continued to go to her meadow everyday after classes, sometimes reading, sometimes just laying there thinking about all of the happenings of the world. It became her hideout, a place to go when she was upset or anxious or embarrassed.

Stella just lay there that afternoon, completely content with the way of the world, it was some time in the beginning of May, the exact day and time forgotten. Her world was warm and green and tempting, so different from the harsh cold of winter or the oppressive heat of summer. Wild flowers surrounded her; the grass was soft and soothing on her skin. As she contemplated all of the transgressions of the recent past her eyes became heavier, as if even the memory of her actions were too much for a conscious mind to handle, she slept in the meadow that brought her so much peace.

She awoke from her dream, in the dark, to the tapping of a foot on her back, noticing immediately that she must have rolled off of her blanket while she slept because the red snowman atrocity was nowhere to be seen, although she spotted her knapsack only a few feet away. She turned to face the offending foot, expecting it to belong to her roommate as had been the case multiple times in the past in similar situations. Stella was startled to see that, rather than the dainty foot of her roommate; it was shod in a heavy boot similar to the ones worn by the maintenance crew. She opened her mouth in apology as her eyes drifted up to meet the face connected to the foot.

However before she could get even a syllable formed she realized the pants and shirt were made out of a strange material that looked far too rough to have been made by machine, and he had a strange cape looking thing wrapped around his neck connected by only a small clasp. Her brow furrowed in confusion, this man looked as if he had stepped out of another century.

"Are you alright," the strange man asked with concern plastered on his face. Stella couldn't help but stare his hair was long, ending at his shoulders and he was covered in dirt and sweat. Despite all of these clear detractors Stella couldn't help but think that the man was incredibly handsome. His blue eyes probed hers and she realized he was still waiting for her response.

"Yes, yes I'm fine I must have just dozed off for a moment" she whispered, silently cursing herself for sounding like such an airhead. He looked at her as if unbelieving.

"Where are you from? Are you lost?" he asked again his voice soft as if expecting her to run away. He was starting to irritate Stella, she had always had little patients for those that thought she was weak.

"Look, I'll just be heading back, I'm living at Hollins it is only a short walk" she looked around unwilling to keep eye contact with the man. She had walked back many times in the dark, she knew where each tree was and had easily remembered the path with the least amount of poison ivy.

The man now looked incredibly confused "Hollin?" he questioned "I am afraid you are a great deal farther than a short walk from there." He looked at her with sympathy "I have not heard of someone living in Hollin in this age. That city was long ago destroyed."

Stella looked at the man she now believed to have a few screws loose. She had not noticed that he had not pronounced the name of her school correctly, many people did, it was just one of the few perks of going to a school of less than a thousand.

"I walked from there to here, I can most certainly walk back" she exclaimed, confused by the man's insistence that Hollins didn't even exist.

The man shook his head, but rather than continuing the conversation he simply looked around and began gathering wood and setting up what looked like a makeshift camp. Stella knew she should go, her roommate would be getting worried and she was hungry, the small sandwich she had eaten for lunch seemed so long ago, but Stella could not move she was transfixed watching the man with his strange attire and strange actions.

He looked up at her and motioned for her to sit, she paused for a moment not entirely trusting of the strange man she had only just met. She quickly turned and picked up her knapsack before returning to sit across from the man, who was now working on starting a fire. She watched him for a minute before stopping him. She reached into her knapsack and got out her lighter, making quick work of the fire before sitting back down looking at him curiously, his expression mirrored hers.

"What is that?" he asked abruptly. Stella hadn't been expecting that one, everyone knew what a lighter was even if they didn't have the same tobacco addiction she did.

"A lighter. I know I know, smoking kills. Whatever, we're all dying in the end aren't we?" she was defensive she couldn't help it, her mother was always attacking her for the habit. As she finished her small speech she rummaged around in her bag again pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lit one, taking a long drag. She looked at him again; "So I just helped you out and I don't even know your name," she stated looking at him expectantly.

"People around here call me Strider," he shrugged "my given name is Aragorn." he looked at her expectantly as if that should mean something.

Unsure what to say, she just nodded "Stella," she held her hand out waiting for him to shake it. Now it was his turn to be confused, but rather than to show it, he grasped her hand and they shook. He looked down at her clothing, he seemed at a lost and Stella noticed.

"I'm a rider, at Hollins that is, I was going to go for a ride this afternoon after I got back but clearly I fell asleep." He still seemed lost. "Horses?" she said almost annoyed at his ignorance, "I ride horses, competitively. That's why I'm dressed like this, these," she plucked at her pants "are riding pants." He nodded in comprehension. "So, what do you do?" she asked sounding rude, although she rationalized it that she had given him her name, rank and title while he just stared at her blankly.

"I am a ranger," he answered swiftly although it seemed as if there was something that he wasn't telling her, she didn't mind she hadn't told him everything either. Stella nodded, he seemed like a man with a purpose.

"Where are you headed?" she asked again, realizing that she was probably getting on his nerves with the questions.

"Bree," he answered looking at her again "about a day and a half in that direction," he said, pointing behind him. Stella was headed in the opposite direction but she couldn't help but want to go with him, he gave the impression that he was on an important adventure, 'maybe he's backpacking' she thought. She just nodded. She decided she was going to ask if she could go with him, 'why not?' she thought, ignoring the little voice in the back of her head that gave her a million reasons not to follow this man the first being that she didn't even know him.

"Would you take me with you?" she blurted, before looking at her feet embarrassed by her sudden outburst. "I just mean, I really have nothing else going on and I want an adventure before I go home." She mumbled her justification refusing to look up at him. Then she heard it, a deep rumble she identified as him laughing.

"What I am doing now is no light hearted adventure, I fear it would be dangerous for you" he looked at her again his eyes piercing her, looking for something. Stella became annoyed and glared at the man.

"I can very well take care of myself, as if I have not faced horrors you could not even imagine." she muttered with a look that could kill. The pair stared at each other for what felt like an eternity.

"Fine, you can come. I did warn you that it will be dangerous," he looked at her again. "I am going to get some sleep now, I suggest you do the same, we will leave at first light," he turned around and began getting comfortable ignoring the young girl still looking at him.


	2. An Adventure Begins

Stella woke early, watching as Aragorn packed his bags and dismantled the fire from last night. She was still hungry but didn't want to seem like a burden for bringing it up. She quickly rummaged in her bag before pulling out an apple; she smiled as she bit into the fruit giggling as the juices ran down her chin. He looked at her. She smiled sheepishly as she wiped her chin before looking up at him again

"Would you like one?" she asked holding up another apple, they were meant for her horse, Ares, yesterday but clearly that wasn't going to happen now. He accepted the apple still looking at her.

In the light of day she could see him better and realized that this man more than looked like he stepped out of another century, he personified "the dark ages" right down to the sword strapped to his hip. He caught her staring and immediately moved to cover the hilt. "What's with the get-up man?" she questioned pushing her fear of the man to the back corners of her mind. He looked at her confused "your outfit and weapon choice," she clarified she knew hunters sometimes used crossbows, or even knives, but a sword? He did not answer at first.

"You do not have to fear, I am not going to hurt you. My sword is intended only for those that pose a threat." He says in a soft voice. Stella just nodded and decided not to push the subject.

They set off in the direction that Aragorn had pointed towards last night walking in silence. Stella wasn't used to the amount of walking that he required of her, taking many swigs from her metal water bottle thankful that she had brought two. She shouldn't be so tired, she kept thinking, she was a competitor at the top of her game. She started her morning at five o'clock every morning to work out and train with Ares.

She thought about all of the responsibilities that she had walked away from when she asked to accompany Aragorn, those thoughts kept her busy for most of the day and she examined her surroundings. She had no idea that the woods went back this far, they had walked all day up and down hills and still she could not see an end to the woods. Finally they stopped once it became too dark for either to see much further than a few feet.

They fell into a similar routine as the previous night Aragorn gathered the firewood while Stella started the fire. They just sat there again looking at each other in the small amount of time that they had know one another Stella had come to understand one thing as an absolute fact, Aragorn was not a talker. Stella on the other hand loved to talk just to fill time; sometimes she caught herself talking to empty rooms. "So what's in Bree, I have never even heard of it?" she questioned

"Hobbits, two of them, I was sent to give them a message and escort them to Rivendell" he looked at her with such intensity that she had to look away.

"Oh, and what is a hobbit?" she asked hoping that her next question would not be laughed at "and what is Rivendell?" he looked at her disbelievingly but answered her questions without laughter.

"A hobbit is a small race that typically dwelt underground, believed to be related to Men, and Rivendell is and elven dwelling. I am surprised you have heard of neither," her looked at her again expecting more questions.

"Hobbits? Elves? Next you are going to tell me dwarfs are real too!" she exclaimed. This time he did laugh, a deep sound that sounded rough from disuse.

"Dwarfs are very real, Stella, how is it that you could live in Middle-Earth without knowing of these races?" he laughed. Stella's mouth had dropped, 'this man must be playing a joke on me, and what is Middle-Earth?' rather than sound like an idiot for the second time tonight Stella contented herself that once they had gotten to Bree everything would make itself clear to her. The next thing out of Aragorn's mouth shocked her once again he had his own questions.

"Stella, may I ask you something?" he asked tentatively as he watched her rummage around in her bag for something.

"Technically you already did but, shoot." she murmured looking for that damned protein bar she knew she had in her bag. He ignored her snarky comment.

"Your dress is unlike any I have seen on a woman, and your accent is peculiar, I do not mean to offend but how old are you?" at this Stella looked up confused, the search for the protein bar forgotten, couldn't he tell, she was always trying to look older than she was but he could ballpark it, couldn't he?

"I'm twenty, I just had my birthday last week." She smiled "and how old are you?" she asked with a smirk, she guessed around thirty-five, forty at max.

"Eighty-seven" he said with a completely straight face.

"Liar," Stella smiled, he looked affronted

"I assure you I am not lying," he said with a furrowed brow, confused as to why she would not believe him. Stella saw that he was being serious her mouth dropped open for the second time that evening. She buried her face in her hands.

"What is my mother going to say about this one!" she exclaimed "of course I can always just distract her with the stories of elves and dwarfs and hobbits before I slip in the fact that I am traveling with an eighty-seven year old man that I knew for all of half an hour!" she murmured more to herself forgetting present company.

Aragorn looked at the girl with amusement as she began looking through her bag again still talking to herself.

"HA" she exclaimed holding two things in her hand. She messed with one of the things before setting it on the ground a loud noise erupted from the small devise. It took him a moment to recognize that the noise coming from the devise had a beat; it was a song, with a harsh beat and a woman yelling. To his surprise she began singing as well, the same song as the devise. At first he was thrown by the small devise making such a loud noise and then he listened to the words it was talking about an old man, hitting on her.

He was confused the song talked of many things that he couldn't understand, so he gave up on trying to understand and rather focused on the girl. She was still sitting although she had started to sway in time with the music and she was smiling, she looked relaxed. She sighed and giggled as the song came to an end and pressed something on the devise causing the music to stop.

She looked at him with a small grin, "sorry," she said, though not looking it "it's just this joke I have with my friends, I tend to attract the older set so they made this my theme song, you know the song that defines me." She murmured "not that I think your putting the moves on me or something, I mean that song its just a joke," she paused at a loss for words, just starting to wish she had never played the song. All she wanted was to diffuse some of the tension she had caused by asking him his age. She looked up at him and was happy to see that he did not look mad rather he seemed amused with a small smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

"I'm not offended, I did not even understand most of it, you need not be embarrassed" she smiled at him glad that he had not taken offence to the vulgarity of the song, she might not have known him for very long but she knew enough to know that he probably wouldn't appreciate it. "You should go to sleep soon we will leave again early,"

Stella nodded she was tired. She opened the protein bar she had found and broke it in half she handed one half to him not sure how he could have gone on for so long without eating. 'He's probably just more used to this than you are' she thought as he regarded the protein bar with skepticism, Stella took a bite and looked at him he looked delighted 'chocolate protein bars, the way to every mans heart' she thought with a chuckle.

It was not long before she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Stella awoke to the smell cooking, looked around and saw Aragorn sitting over the fire, cooking. This surprised her; Aragorn seemed more like the type that would expect food on the table rather than the type to cook it. He looked at her and smirked, she assumed that she had a bad case of bed head. Looking in her bag she found a brush and released her long blond locks from the loose ponytail and began the arduous task of untangling the mess and braiding it before wrapping it back into a bun that sat high on her head.

She greeted him with a small smile and a wave before sitting back at the fire looking at what he had prepared, meat, lots and lots of meat. She tried to hide her grimace but he saw, he always saw the emotions that so well played upon her face.

"Is something wrong?" he asked concerned.

"No, no" she hastily replied "it's just I haven't eaten meat in five years, I worry about my reaction" he looked at her questioningly.

"I have never heard of a woman abstaining from meat, I believe you will have a hard time finding food here that will suit your preferences," he looked at her worriedly. She just smiled at him, determined to enjoy the experiences she was facing.

"It's okay, I can eat it just don't be offended it I only eat a little" she managed to grin. He laughed and handed her a small portion of meat on a plate. She thanked him and began to slowly chew on the meat trying to ignore the protests from her stomach. She managed to eat about half of her serving before she became full and gave the rest to him. She began putting her things away taking off her left boot to remove a rock and grabbing her riding jacket out of her bag because it was shockingly cold and she had nothing else.

He looked at her for a while when she was getting dressed and realized that she was used to waking up with the dawn and the strenuous amount of exercise, and she could do it with a gracefulness that he had only seen in that of the elves. She had so reminded him of an elf with her near silent movements, he had forgotten his hunger assuming she would mention her hunger when she needed. It was not until last night when she had shared with him the delicious treat that he had remembered his hunger, and then she confesses that she does not eat meat, another trait that she shared with the elves. It was a true shock that she had never heard of the race she had so much in common with.

As they began their walk again it was at a much more leisurely pace he began to question her on her life before this "adventure" as she so excitedly phrased there walk through the woods. Just when Stella had answered the last questions she though she could handle before yelling at him to 'mind his own business' she saw it, a small grouping of buildings making up the town Aragorn called Bree. He stopped her there looking at the small town and looked at her with all seriousness.

"It is imperative that you address me as Strider whilst he stay here," she saw the serious in his eyes and simply nodded "and perhaps it would best if you were not to talk to anyone" he said as an afterthought. At this Stella scoffed 'as if' she thought but Aragorn continued, "the people of Bree are kind however they would not be understanding of your comments nor your strange accent." Stella paused 'it would be similar to school' she thought wryly as they walked down to the town and entered through a gate and to an inn called 'The Prancing Pony'.


	3. Staying in Bree

Aragorn steered her to the inn where he talked to a man named Butterbur about a room. Stella was more than happy to remain quiet as the eyes of every man followed her. Aragorn must have noticed Stella anxiety and pulled her closer to him, it was the closest they had ever been, usually they stayed several feet from each other. She found that she was not nervous because of their proximity, as she usually was around men; rather that she appreciated his protective nature. She moved closer to his side resting her head on his shoulder giving the rest of the men in the room a clear indication 'she was with him'. She felt him tense beside her and she wondered vaguely if it had something to do with her actions but quickly dismissed the errant thought. She heard him thank Butterbur and followed him up the stairs.

Once they had made it to the room they were given she saw a slight dilemma, one bed. She looked at him as he moved to the small table and sat in the wooden chair next to the window. He looked uncomfortable and stiff. Stella moved to the chair on the opposite side and looked at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly "Is this because of what I did downstairs? I swear I was just trying to get those men to stop looking at me like a piece of meat. I thought if they thought I was with you they would leave me alone." She finished with a sigh "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

He looked at her almost unbelievingly and to her surprise he laughed.

"You need not worry about me, I was simply worried about you, I could tell that you were uncomfortable and then Butterbur's comment I assumed would make you upset," he looked at her now and had to laugh she looked confused beyond words "you weren't paying any attention were you?" he asked with another chuckle, she shook her head "he asked if you were my wife, I had to give him a response and I assumed that things would be worse for you if I said no, so I told him we were." She looked at him with sudden comprehension.

"The bed," she started.

Aragorn looked at her shaking his head roughly.

"Of course the bed is yours, and yours alone" he assured her "but I could not find a way to get two rooms if I am traveling with my wife" he said with a small smile.

She looked at him with her own smile and stood to hug him.

"You are a good man," she whispered in his ear "there are many men who would have taken advantage of this situation." She pulled back and she looked at him again and then said in a normal voice "You may be a good man, but you need a bath" she declared dramatically pinching her nose, laughing.

He laughed along with her.

Somehow Aragorn managed to convince Butterbur to have bath water drawn for the two of them and they took turns using the room to bathe in. Stella was starting to believe that Aragorn, or Strider as he wished to be called, had much more authority than he had originally led her to believe.

When Aragorn emerged from the room again he looked much better although his clothes were still filthy. Stella smiled; she was suddenly very sleepy and could barely suppress the yawn that forced its way past her lips.

"You should catch up on some rest," Aragorn said quietly "once I have met with the hobbits we will leave for Rivendell."

Nodding again Stella moved to the bed slowly letting her hair down from the vice-like braid it was in.

"Thank you" she mumbled sleepily as she saw Aragorn leave the room.

It must have been hours though it felt like only minutes when Stella awoke again, Aragorn was there with another, he could have only been a child, they were having an intense conversation as Aragorn looked out of the window. "That is no trinket you carry" he was saying, the boy's words were lost in a sea of knocking

"Let him out or I'll have you longshanks!" came the call of a man from behind the door. Aragorn looked in Stella's direction and caught her eye, there was a glimmer of humour there, before he pulled the door open commending the little one for his courage.

There was a shriek that echoed throughout the inn that forced the little men at the door to come rushing in. they waited with bated breath as the shrieking continued and then it went silent. It was then that Stella took in the rather comical picture; she was on the bed, while Aragorn sat at the window, and the four little men looked at one another seemingly at a loss for what to do. She couldn't help but let out a low chuckle causing all five men to look at her.

Aragorn looked away sighing as he explained the Nazgul, the ringwraiths, the story sounded horrid and also caused Stella to feel a great pity for the men that fell to their power. Stella got up off of the bed and moved closer to Aragorn. He was talking about leaving at first light and told the little men, Stella now understood to be hobbits, to get some sleep.

It was then that Stella spoke up insisting that the hobbits take the bed she would not be able to sleep after listening to the story of the nine riders. After some protest from the one named Merry, who deemed it inappropriate to take the bed from a lady, she was able to convince them all to lay down and get some sleep. She joined Aragorn at the table and watched as he looked out the window. He looked haunted, as though the dream held more for him than the fear of a ringwraith.

His gaze out of the window was interrupted as he noticed Stella start to braid her hair again. He looked over at her as she watched him concerned for the look in his eye.

"Will you be alright?" she asked in a whisper afraid to wake the now sleeping hobbits. There was a subtle change in her choice of words and it did not go unnoticed, he opened his mouth to say something and found he was lacking the words he just nodded his head. She gave him an encouraging smile and moved her hand, as if to hold onto his that rested on the table, but thought better of it. The night passed slowly as Stella waited for the Nazgul to reappear and kill them all.

When dawn came Aragorn and Stella roused the hobbits from their sleep. Stella was excited to be leaving Bree and now that she had confirmed Aragorn's story about the existence of hobbits perhaps his tale of elves would be true as well. They ate a quick breakfast and moved on from the inn. They were walking for only ten minutes before the one named Pippin came up to her, "what is your name?" he asked not entirely impolitely.

"Stella," she responded "and you are Pippin?" although she already knew the answer because the one named Sam had already yelled at him 3 times for being too loud.

He nodded in response and they were silent for a while.

"So," he started "why are you traveling with Strider?"

Stella giggled

"Because before this I lived a frightfully boring life and craved an adventure, as soon as he told me that he was going someplace I had never heard of I insisted I tag along." She answered hoping she hadn't made herself sound like an idiot.

Pippin just smiled and nodded his head though she could see he was still confused. She laughed and ruffled his hair as he slowed down to walk with the other hobbits while she sped up to walk with Aragorn.

Not twenty minutes had passed before she could no longer see the curly hair of the closest hobbit. Stella gently tugged on Aragorn's sleeve and motioned behind her, he looked around and headed back. We came across the hobbits sitting down preparing a fire and sitting down to eat. "And just what do y'all think your doing?" Stella asked looking at each of the hobbits

"Breakfast!" one of them replied, now it was Aragorn's turn to role his eyes.

"You have already had it." He stated and made to turn away. Pippin looked genuinely lost.

"We've had one breakfast, yes, but what about second breakfast" he mentioned looking triumphant.

By this Aragorn was truly shocked instead of responding he simply turned away, throwing an apple at Pippin. She smirked and turned to continue walking, hearing Pippin complain about the lack of food and all of the meals he would be missing.

They stopped for the night and everyone was looking sad, she took it upon herself to cheer everyone up remembering the laughter her music had gotten, Stella moved closer to the hobbits. "Would you like to hear some music from my home?" she asked trying to be sweet.

One by one they all nodded. She took her iPod out of her pocket and asked "A slow song or a fast song?" Stella asked trying to find something that would not offend but would still lift the mood.

"Fast" Merry and Pippen both said at the same time.

She laughed but obliged as she picked out a fast song. Stella watched with delight as their eyes widened as the music started to play. It was a goofy song spoken mostly in Italian where a lady Mary was told she was too lazy. Merry and Pippin began tapping their feet to the beat laughing at the nonsensical words, Sam began to bob his head in time to the music, she even saw a small smile cross Frodo's face. As the music came to an end she quickly put the music on pause and their laughter died down. Sam looked at her shyly.

"Could you please play a slow song?" he asked

She smiled and nodded finding a slow song he would like. It was a love song about being content and creating happy memories. Sam looked as if he was on another planet; he had a goofy smile spread across his face. Until Frodo nudged him back to this world. "Thank you," he murmured. She was just glad that she could make the four happy before they fell asleep. Stella moved away again and looked at Aragorn, he was looking at her with a strange look that she couldn't place but she stared back unwilling to break eye contact with him.


	4. An Issue of Fire

Stella was trying to keep from getting bored the next morning by looking over the contents of her bag again, she hadn't really thought about bringing much with her before she had set out to her meadow. A book, her lighter, her iPod, and a small pocketknife pretty much summed up the contents.

She looked over at Pippin she had grown fond of the hobbit, he reminded her of the young boy she used to watch over the summer back in high school with his one track mind and shocking loyalty. He was struggling with his bag that was loaded with things, food mostly, and couldn't get the right strap over his elbow. Stella walked over to him and sat down motioning him to do the same. He quickly abandoned the bag giving it a final kick before he joined her with a smile.

"Pippin, I couldn't help but notice that your bag seems a tad bit too large for you," she said with a grin.

He looked down as if embarrassed.

"So I would say that it is only fair if we share the load, what do you say?" she asked, trying to cover a chuckle.

A smile broke out on his face.

"Oh, yes please!" he grinned at her, as he quickly emptied the contents of his knapsack and divided the massive pile of food he had sorted into two groups.

Once they had successfully divided the food and eaten a small breakfast they started off again with Aragorn taking the lead. Stella couldn't help but smile as she watched Aragorn; he was a natural born leader. She heard Sam grumble to Frodo about not trusting Strider, and making rather rude comments about his smell. To which Stella could only chuckle.

"If you think he stinks now, you should have smelt him before I made him take a bath!" she laughed at the look of surprise on Sam's face.

Clearly he believed the conversation to have been private.

They continued to walk the majority of the day. Stella had come to realize that this was most of Aragorn's pattern, wake up, eat, walk, and sleep. There wasn't much else he did except give Stella long looks that sometimes looked as if he were upset and other times it was a look of great longing. Stella passed by these looks assuming that they were mere figments of her ever-hopeful imagination.

As they reached a massive stone structure that reminded Stella of a piece of abstract art she had seen at one point of another that was meant to symbolize man's destruction. Aragorn called it Amon Sul, and started to climb to the top the little hobbits close on his heel. Stella followed, although she was cautious of any place she could not pronounce the name of. Once they got to the top of the large structure Aragorn deposited four short blades at the hobbit's feet before he motioned for Stella to follow him.

As they left the hobbits to set up bedrolls, Aragorn turned to look at Stella, she realized he was much closer than he normally stood but ignored it as she saw the seriousness in his face.

"It is necessary that I go for a small amount of time, while I am gone should any danger come to pass I need to know that you will not run." He stated, as if he had just met her.

She scowled; offended that he would think that of her.

"Do not worry your precious head," she sneered, "It may be common place for women to run and hide here, I however was raised differently!" she could not hide the pride that emanated from her as she spoke the last words, angered that he would believe that of her.

He tensed as she glared at him and remembered the words she had spoken that had convinced him to let her come on this trip _'as if I have not faced horrors you could not even imagine'_. He knew that she would not run, he was not even sure why he had said it, he wanted to tell her to be safe and protect herself although he had not the words to say it. He nodded unsure of a proper response, though as she turned away he placed his hand on her elbow.

"Do not light a fire, do not entertain with that musical devise, I fear the Nazgul come closer with each passing moment" he whispered with urgency.

She nodded and turned again to re-join the hobbits still glaring as she took her seat. Slowly she allowed herself to be pulled into sleep, the stress of the day's walk and Aragorn's insensitive comments finally catching up to her.

When she awoke it was to Frodo yelling.

"Put it out, you fools!" he exclaimed.

Stella looked over at the hobbits that were sitting only a few feet away around a fire that Frodo kicked out. It was too late; she heard the piercing screeches and saw them, the ringwraiths cloaked in black. They struck fear in Stella's heart, knowing that they would stop at nothing to obtain what they craved most; she knew they were in trouble. She pulled her small knife out of her bag and opened it, why Aragorn had left her with no other method to protect herself she did not understand 'probably just didn't want to loose the weapon once I ran off' she thought sourly, still angered by his comments.

The Nazgul descended upon them and though the hobbits and Stella prepared for an attack it never came. Instead they merely pushed them aside as they made their way to Frodo. He looked petrified as they approached him, and appeared to be locked in a trance fumbling with the ring that rested heavy in his pocket.

Suddenly he disappeared, slipping the ring onto his finger. Stella was shocked she had never seen anything like that before, she stood there for a second before it dawned on her that this was probably not a good thing and she started yelling Frodo's name. Suddenly Aragorn appeared from seemingly nowhere attacking the Nazgul that remained close to where Frodo once lay.

Stella watched with fascination as the wraiths slowly retreated and Frodo reappeared. Although something was wrong with him, he had a stab wound close to his heart and looked pail and clammy. Stella rushed to his side, worried that her new friend would soon be dead.

"Frodo! Frodo!" She called, afraid to touch him in case it made him worse.

She looked up at Aragorn; he held the blade that struck Frodo with a look of disgust on his face. Stella watched in shock as the blade turned to ash floating away with the wind. Quickly Aragorn turned to Frodo, pushing Stella out of the way, and picked him up. The group made their quick escape from the rock and headed into the forest, it was there that Aragorn placed Frodo on the ground and looked at Sam.

"Athelas," Aragorn looked at him with purpose, causing Stella's fear to skyrocket. At the look of confusion on Sam's face as he attempted to say the name strider rephrased, "Kingsfoil" he said again with ever decreasing patients.

"Aye, but that's a weed!" Sam explained, confused by the seemingly pointless questions while his friend laid there turning into one of those damned creatures.

"It may help to slow the poison" Aragorn responded quietly.

At the mention of saving Frodo, Sam hurried off with his eyes glued to the ground. Aragon walked in the other direction looking for the same plant. Once he had located a small patch of the weed under a tree he quickly knelt and attempted to collect it but was stopped, as suddenly there was a sword at his jugular.

"What's this, a ranger caught off his guard?" said a cool voice.

"This is no time for games, Arwen" Aragorn muttered, annoyed that she would divert him from such an important task.

Arwen immediately retracted her sword though she was confused by his cold manner and tense shoulders.

"You must help," he implored her "Frodo has been stabbed by a Morgul blade."

Arwen immediately sprang into action as she rushed over to Frodo, allowing Aragorn to place the weed into Frodo's wound.

"He needs my father" she murmured to Aragorn.

He merely nodded, reluctant to look her in the eye. "I will take him and send horses back for you."

At this Arwen's cool voice became heated and she switched languages, Stella became lost in the beautiful flurry of sounds but watched as Arwen collected Frodo and placed him upon her horse.

"I do not fear them" she told Aragon still heated although in a language Stella could understand.

Aragorn nodded again whispered to her words the rest could not hear. Arwen looked at him with steely reserve and set off at a fast pace away from the group.

As Aragorn re-joined Stella and the hobbits he explained that Arwen would take Frodo to Rivendell and protect him and that they would meet him in a few days. Stella looked at Aragorn he seemed shaken, and was looking at her with an unreadable stare.

Sam was worried sick over Frodo and pushed Merry and Pippin to move faster, as Aragorn set of at a brisk pace followed quickly by Stella. Once night had thoroughly ensconced them Aragon slowed his pace allowing the hobbits a chance to catch up with him and Stella. The hobbits then went about setting up camp while Aragon motioned for Stella to follow.

Stella couldn't help but thinking about the pervious night when Aragorn had insulted her and left her defenceless, anger boiled inside of her as she made to follow after him. She managed to hold her tongue until they wee far enough away not to be heard.

"Would you care to tell me exactly what is wrong with you?" Stella almost shouted. "After you accuse me of being so spineless as to abandon my friends, you leave me powerless to defend either myself of them while you are off frolicking in the fields!" she was yelling, making wild hand gestures almost hitting him in the face. "And who was that woman?" she added this time she actually smacked his chest with a touch too much force to be friendly.

He grabbed her wrists, "Stop!" he commanded.

Despite the overwhelming urge to kick him, Stella paused her movements and settled for glaring at him.

"I left you without a weapon because I assumed that you would not know how to use it, swords can be equally deadly to the one that wields it, if they do not know what they are doing." He paused to gauge her reaction.

He was right she would have no idea what to do with something a crude as a sword, she could barely hold a shotgun without trembling with fear. She still maintained her glare.

"As for frolicking, I can promise you that was not my intention. I would also like to apologise for having such little faith in you." He stopped there hoping that she would just forget about the last part of her question.

Stella nodded, "and the woman?" she asked again, noticing the bitterness in her own voice.

Aragon looked at her as if gauging her reaction "She is a friend," he finally answered looking away.

She sneered hearing the lie in his voice. "You may be a natural leader, but people will only follow if you can manage to answer them honestly."

She turned away busying herself with fussing over the exhausted hobbits that now slept where they fell.


	5. Enjoying Rivendell

The group walked for several days, and with each passing day Stella became more and more convinced that Frodo had not made it. Traveling such a long way on horseback was an arduous task for an abled body, being wounded only decreased his chances. She could not help but continue to make faces at Aragorn, although they held less animosity as they did several nights ago.

The group was silent for the most part, except when Pippin would ask for a song at the end of the day; though they didn't improve the mood nearly enough they provided a solution to the tense silence. On the night of the third day of traveling in the same manner Aragon announced they would be in Rivendell by the next nightfall. Stella should have been happy but she was too busy trying to stay mad at Aragorn to notice it. It was then that Merry approached her; although she enjoyed his company she had not yet had any sort of meaningful talk with him as she had with the others.

"Stella," he began with caution "I think it would be best if you made amends with Strider. Whatever he did he could not have done it with bad intentions, and your arguing is hurting morale" he said in a soft voice.

She looked at him with a sad expression marring her features. "Yes, I was just thinking the same thing. I have acted like a petulant child for far too long." She smiled at him.

He took that as his queue to leave and as he got up she couldn't help but think 'he isn't mine anyways, ugh I wish'. She slowly got up and made he way to Aragorn.

"Hi," she said in a meek voice that sounded pathetic even to her own ears.

He nodded, saying nothing, expecting her to continue.

She took a deep breath before starting again "I want to put this all behind us. I over reacted you are right I probably would have ended up hurting myself with a sword, and you never owed me an explanation of Arwen I just wish you could have told me the truth." She finished and looked up at him expecting an angry response.

"You have nothing to apologise for, I should have given you some way to help yourself. I should never have left you in that situation to begin with." He let the situation with Arwen rest for now, he was sure that she would bring it up later anyways.

She harrumphed crossing her arms "I am not defenceless" she muttered, "I just didn't see how my self-defence classes could really be put to use, they never covered what to do if you encounter immortal creatures hell bent on finding a ring. Anyways my point is that I can help myself." she finished.

She didn't mean to become so harsh. It was a sore spot for her; she had worked hard to make it so that she wasn't helpless. Stella had been helpless before and made a vow to herself never to be found that way again.

"Look, I'm sorry. God if I don't get it right this time I'm just going to give up!" she stated looking up at the sky. "It's just I don't like thinking that I can't help myself. Those 'horrors' I mentioned when I first met you were very real and some of them are still burnt into my memory."

She stopped for a minute reaching into her jacket pocket retrieving a cigarette and lighting it up before starting again.

"Back home I made a point to familiarize my self with the more common weapons, though it looks as if here I will be somewhat out of my depth," she paused again "but I just want you to know that I'm not defenceless and you don't always need to protect me." Stella had said everything she could think of and looked in his eyes gauging his reaction.

He leaned close to her, "I will always be there to protect you." He near whispered.

Stella's brow shot up at the clear desire in his voice, but she did not pull away even though most of her brain was shouting at her to move. He leaned in his eyes trained on her mouth; she wet her lips anxious by the sudden change in mood. His face was mere centimetres from hers and she couldn't help but want to close the gap. As if reading her thoughts he moved closer pressing he lips to hers, she was shocked by the sudden warmth and surprising softness. She leaned into the kiss slowly wrapping her arms around his neck while his hands encircled her waist.

Suddenly she was snapped back to reality as her brain started to work again after the shock of his actions. She pulled back.

"Whoa, what do you think you are doing?" she asked trying to be more mad than she actually was retracting her arms from around his neck, "Listen, I don't really understand your relationship with Arwen but a monkey could see that you two have something going on and I am not some kind of kept woman!" she was doing a good job of getting herself mad.

Aragorn looked down though he did not seem to regret his actions, he at least had the decency to not smirk. "You are right, I should have not done that." He answered "I did not mean to disrespect you in any way, please forgive me?" he asked

She nodded looking away, "I think I am just going to be going over there," she pointed in the direction of her things.

He nodded still contemplating what caused him to act out like that, she had just told him that she was haunted by something but rather than run from her fears she was prepared to fight. He was intrigued by her behaviour and her resilience.

Stella laid down thinking about the kiss; it was intense there were no other words to describe it. She touched her lips; they still tingled at the mere memory. She now desperately wished that she hadn't ended it, but she was right when she said that she wouldn't be his woman on the side. He had Arwen and their relationship seemed destined, he wouldn't leave that beauty for her. It would probably be best to forget the whole thing.

The next morning was tense though not similar to before, rather than the hostile looks being thrown across the way there were no looks. Stella acted as if Aragorn wasn't there while he managed to do the same thing to her.

They continued to walk until Sam let out a sigh setting his eyes on the buildings a ways ahead, "Rivendell," he sighed peacefully. Stella was in shock as well she could never imagine something so beautiful, everything seemed to glow in the light.

"This can't be real, there is no way this is real." She kept muttering, pinching her skin lightly once or twice just to check she was really awake.

A man with a regal air, which Aragon addressed as Elrond, greeted them ushering them forward through a maze of corridors until they reached a door.

"Frodo is in there, he is safe for now." He said looking at the hobbits.

He motioned for Stella to follow him, and they left the hobbits arguing about seeing Frodo, it seemed Sam had taken on the job of protecting Frodo while he slept.

Elrond led Stella to a door and told her that this would be her room while she stayed in Rivendell. Stella thanked him and quickly entered the room looking forward cleaning up and relaxing for a short period. She stepped into the room and despite her fatigue she could not help but be enamoured with the beauty that surrounded her, she ran her hands along the carved wood of the bed frame and the silk linens that were soft to the touch. It was such a contrast to the harshness the ground and was far superior to anything she had encountered at home.

There was a large tub in the centre of the room several feet from the foot of the bed it was filled with warm water and was emanating a smell that Stella couldn't place but it drifted across her nose and instantly relaxed her.

Quickly kicking off her boots and stripping of her pants and soft cotton shirt she stepped into the bath allowing the water to relax her sore muscles and wash away the grime that had accumulated in the past days. Slowly she began to scrub at her body utilizing the large bottle of liquid that acted as a type of soap, although the smell was foreign to her it caused her to only further relax into the water.

She un-braided her long hair and set about washing it slowly and deliberately, attempting to remove every last tangle and knot. Once she was done Stella forced herself to rise from the heavenly water and find something to dry off with. Just as she found a soft silken robe in the closet and had settled down on the bed to braid her hair there came a quiet knock on the door.

She rushed to answer it nervous that something had happened to Frodo, immediately feeling guilty for not going to see him when they first arrived. There was a woman standing at the door, it took Stella a moment to recognise it was Arwen. She was dressed differently, although a change in dress did nothing to change the attitude with which she wore it. It was clear to Stella that Arwen was important. 'Just another reason she and Aragorn will end up together' Stella thought bitterly before banishing the thought.

She smiled at Arwen and motioned for her to come in. She was saying something but Stella wasn't paying attention everything was happening so fast and her brain couldn't handle it. Stella just watched as Arwen picked up her clothes barely hiding her disgust before moving back to the door and making a hasty retreat.

Stella sat on the bed confused by what just happened and certain of only one thing; Arwen had just taken the only clothes she had. With that last thought Stella felt herself being drawn into sleep.

She awoke after hours of sleep to see her clothes had been returned and were lying, clean, in a neat pile at the foot of the bed. She quickly donned the freshly cleaned clothes revelling in the feel of the clean pants. Stella could not go back to sleep after sleeping for so long so she decided to explore the buildings and surrounding beauty.

After finding her way out of the building she was in and meandering towards a garden she noticed two people standing close together one leaning closer than the other. As Stella's eyes adjusted to the light given off by the moon she realized that the couple was Aragorn and Arwen they looked locked in an important conversation, a private conversation. Stella knew that she should walk away, that she should not be eavesdropping on a clearly personal situation, however her feet wouldn't move. She stood there watching, as the conversation transformed from what appeared to be two lovebirds finding alone time, to a rather gruesome argument.

Arwen had silent tears running down her face while Aragorn's back tensed. He handed her back something that seemed to emanating an otherworldly glow shaking his head sadly. Arwen turned away from him moving slightly faster than would have been necessary.

It was then that it dawned on Stella she had just watched the break-up of the destined couple. 'What did this mean for her?' she thought selfishly for a second, before worrying herself about Arwen. When she had told Aragorn that she wouldn't be a kept woman she had expected him to forget about her not dump his girlfriend for her. This thought caused her feet to spring to action carrying her away from the scene.


	6. The Forming of the Fellowship

For Stella, the days seemed to drag. She had not been given anything to do and, while getting lost held some amusement, she often found herself tucked away in some long forgotten corner.

Once Frodo had awoken on their second day here he was immediately dragged away to talk with old friends and Stella was seemingly forgotten. Except she wasn't, she often caught Aragorn's eye and he had motioned for her to follow him once or twice. Stella tried to ignore the looks, and eventual pointed glares; he threw her way preferring to think about the predicament they had landed themselves in without his interference.

She was walking one day, aimlessly meandering through a portion of the garden she had yet to explore, when she ran into Merry and Pippin. They wore matching grins that told her immediately they were up to no good.

"What did you two get into now?" she asked, expecting that they had raided the kitchen again.

"Frodo has been called into a secret meeting and we were just going to see what all the fuss was about. Would you like to come with us?" Merry asked looking proud.

Stella laughed at there antics but agreed to join them.

"It's not like I have anything better to do." She sighed

They quickly made their way to the location of the 'secret meeting' just in time to see a short man with a long beard swing an axe at a table. The axe chipped and the man fell back from the rebound of his own attack. Stella quickly observed the table; she saw that it held the ring that she had only seen once in passing as Frodo slipped it into his pocket. The ring lay there unharmed and everyone began to argue with what to do with it.

A man with dirty blond hair stood looking at the ring with pure desire. He spoke of a city named Gondor and how he could use the ring to help the inhabitants of the city. From out of her line of sight Aragorn rose stating that the ring could never be used for good. The man, Aragorn addressed as Boromir, sneered and made some remake about the status of a ranger. At this comment another man stood with grace and power coming to Aragorn's aide. He called Aragorn 'Isildur's heir' and 'the rightful king of Gondor'.

Stella was shocked; she knew Aragorn was keeping something from her, but king? She thought back to how she had acted while they were traveling together growing more and more anxious. She had slapped a king, she had yelled at a king, and she had kissed a king and then yelled at him again. Her mother was never going to believe this. As Stella slowly forced herself to the situation at hand she heard a small voice she recognised.

"I will take the ring, I will take the ring to Mordor, though I do not know the way." Frodo said, his voice growing as he continued.

Stella then heard the gruff voice of the wizard she had only seen once or twice promise to shoe Frodo the way. It was then that Stella heard another familiar voice vow to protect him, followed swiftly by the blond that defended Aragorn. The short man with the axe also joined them; only seconds later the man Boromir made some ridiculous speech and joined them.

It was then that Sam came rushing out of the surrounding shrubbery, "Mister. Frodo isn't going anywhere without me." He yelled joining the group.

Merry and Pippin looked at each other with looks of indignation "well we certainly won't be left behind" Pippin said to Merry as they rushed to join the eclectic gathering.

Pippin was half way to the group before he realised Stella hadn't followed them, he rushed back to her grabbing her hand dragging her along with him to the rest of the group. She quickly locked eyes with Aragorn before looking away.

"A woman," Boromir yelled "she has no business here!" he finished, looking at her in a way that was all too familiar for Stella. She merely walked up to him smiling sweetly.

"I can take care of myself," she said in her sweetest tone, pushing down the annoyance that bubbled to the surface.

Boromir smirked at her unbelieving.

Stella made to turn away from him but he placed his hand on her upper arm. Stella snapped she quickly used her free hand to punch him in the nose effectively loosening his grasp on her arm. She placed both hands on his shoulders, using his weight as leverage to force her knee into his groin. As he doubled over Stella forced him to the ground placing her foot on his chest, feeling triumphant.

"Never place your hands on me again" she said in a menacing tone.

She looked up everyone was staring at her in a sate of shock, even Aragorn looked amazed by her actions. She slowly allowed Boromir to stand again.

"I told him I could take care of myself," She stated blankly to the room "he shouldn't have touched me." She shrugged slightly out of breath.

Elrond was the first to come to his senses; he nodded and stated, "Very well, the ten of you shall be the Fellowship of the Ring."

They all nodded and the meeting quickly dispersed as they all rushed off to prepare for the journey ahead. Stella as about to follow Pippin, to yell at him about getting her in this mess, when Aragorn cleared his throat.

She looked back at him and forced herself to deal with the matter at hand. He sat back in the chair he had previously occupied, putting his hands in his face, seemingly unsure of where to begin. Stella took a big breath; she had never been one to beat around the bush.

"Are you going to tell me why Arwen has been looking at me like I trod on her cat?" she asked with only a small amount of animosity, and even that sounded forced.

Aragorn looked up confused by the saying but understood her meaning. She wanted answers.

"Arwen and I were together for a very long time, but our relationship would never have worked. I once loved her very much, and I still care about her, but she is destined for another future." He started, hoping that would be enough information.

"Hey you are the one that wanted to talk!" Stella yelled, "So talk, that was a half-ass answer and you know it."

He sighed, "Arwen pledged to me her hand in marriage, I could not accept. Not only does she have another destiny, but recently I have found that my heart does not belong to her anymore." He said in a quiet voice.

"Marriage?" Stella asked, "Oh, Stella Noel Maddox, what have you gotten yourself into now?" she slumped in her chair. "I'm just trying to get this straight, she said she would marry you and you turned her down? For reasons that include me? Are you crazy?" this wasn't happening.

"If you do not return my affections that is fine, I just wanted you to know" he stated looking at her.

Stella rolled her eyes

"Oh fuck, you don't even know me! How can you like me? And of course I think you are attractive but that doesn't mean I want you to go around ending engagements" She looked at him, the last part was a lie and she could tell by looking at him that he knew it too. She was so relieved that he had ended his relationship with Arwen especially now that she would be traveling with him for the foreseeable future. She looked down at her hands.

"I sort of thought I was handling this all with a lot of grace. I mean I get dragged into this world where men with swords are the norm not to mention elves are real and dwarfs aren't living with Snow White." She rambled on losing the meaning of her anger and simply stating all of the things she had thought since waking up that evening in her meadow.

He tentatively grasped her hand; unsure if it would result in the same treatment she had given Boromir. Stella looked at their joined hands and allowed it to centre her bringing her back to the real issue. Rather than pushing him away she clung to him realizing how much he had helped her.

"I truly do not understand you, but I enjoy your presence and you fight rather than run away from your problems, a trait not seen in most." He justified

Nodding, she looked into his eyes.

"You are a good man, and while I cannot promise that you anything I will think about what you have said." Stella said trying to keep her voice level but with the amount of adrenaline pumping through her veins she was finding it an incredibly challenging task.

"But first you must endure several more of my questions," She was smirking now wanting to see him fidget as he came up with some story to explain to her why he didn't mention his lineage. "Frist, should I be addressing you as king?"

He explained to her about Isildur and the great fall of man. Stella could see the fear in his eyes; he was afraid of his past, afraid of his future, and hiding from it all with the guise of a ranger. Once he had finished his story she looked at him again.

"So you are hiding out of fear? You ran away from your problems because they were too much to handle?" her words were harsh but her voice carried a smirk. "It seems it was not me we had to worry about at Amon Sul." She couldn't help that she was still bitter about his cold words. "It's okay, I understand, if you had met me only a year ago I would have run. I never used to face my fears, running seemed safer for everyone involved." She looked up at him seeing the curiosity in his eyes.

"What changed?" he asked.

Stella grimaced, she really didn't want to tell him but felt it was only fair he had told her his past now it was time for her to share.

"Almost eight months ago I went out to a bar with one of my friends, she had just turned twenty-one, and insisted that she take me out so that I could experience 'real college life'. I was wasted by the third hour and she was worse neither of us should have been anywhere near a car so I called for someone to come pick us up." Her voice was shaking now her hands fumbled looking for a cigarette.

"But I suppose I was too drunk to have done it correctly because we waited there until the bar was closing and nobody came for us. A man came up to us, he said he could take us back to our dorm and we were so far gone we thought that this guy was our best option." A tear had formed in the corner of her eye, "So we got in his car I was in the front giving him instructions back to the dorm. Once we got there I got out of the car but Liz was passed out in the back, he said he could carry her up to her room and I just agreed. I let him in and showed him to her room. I thought he had gone but I heard screaming," she was crying now her voice shaking "I didn't do anything, I just went to sleep. I didn't help her. In the morning I went to her room she was laying there, awake but not moving, she wouldn't say anything. It was all my fault." She couldn't look at Aragorn, afraid to see the disgust in his eyes.

He moved his hand under her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"You are young, nobody expects you to carry that guilt. As for that man, there is no honour in that act and he deserves a painful death." The fire in his eyes gave Stella hope that eventually she could forgive herself.

He moved his face closer, using his other hand to wipe away her tears.

"I don't like to see you cry," he whispered

She nodded at a complete loss for words; he was so caring and protective. Stella realised that it was the first time she had felt safe since that night. She moved her face closer into his hand that now cupped her face.

"Thank you." She murmured.

She watched as his face move closer to hers. She knew she had made up her mind she would follow him absolutely anywhere. She closed the gap pressing her lips to his. This kiss was different from the first; the first was soft and cautious. This kiss was full of desire; she tried to put all of her emotions towards him into that singular action.

When they broke apart she looked up at him again.

"You are a good man, and a natural leader. It is time for you to stop fearing your past and know that you are different, stronger than those that came before you," she whispered "you should also know that I will follow you anywhere."

She finally got up from the seat she had occupied and moved away from the courtyard content with the way she had left things. She set off in search for Pippin not forgetting the mess he had created for her, although she now realized she was not as upset as she once was.


	7. Meeting and Greeting

Stella became both excited and anxious in the passing days. She was eager to see this world she had landed in but feared her lack of skill would allow herself to become an easy target. In the midst of her panic she noticed that there were rushed preparations being made for the fellowships departure.

Stella hoped she could find another shirt and pair of pants, although she noticed that the women here only wore long dresses. The thought made Stella shiver; she had been forced into annoying and constrictive dresses for her job and had every intention to never go back to that.

The group was set to leave in a week when Aragorn approached her looking as if he was struggling with the words he wanted. She smiled at him encouraging him to speak his mind.

"I want to see your skills with weapons," he paused looking at her, "you said before that you had taken the time to learn the weapons of your home. I want to make sure that you are as familiar with the weapons of this world."

Stella knew that this was coming, she didn't want to explain the types of weapons that she knew how to use mostly because they would make no sense and make her sound crazy.

"Okay, I can do that. I do have to warn you, where I am from nobody uses a sword." Stella smiled at him "That doesn't mean I can't learn, and you have already seen that I can take care of myself hand-to-hand." She said, "I have a pretty decent shot, but I guess if I had to pick one I was best at, it would be knives."

He nodded taking her hand and leading her to a large grassy area. From his belt he drew a small dagger and handed it to her. She smiled weighing the object in her hand it was different from anything she had at home it was elegant and light.

"What can you do with it?" Aragorn asked.

"Attack me." She stated drawing the dagger up into her sleeve pressing the blade against her wrist.

He circled her for a minute before lunging at her side right out of her line of sight. She reacted quickly spinning to the side, catching him off guard, before facing him head on slowly letting the dagger drop past her palm still concealed enough that it could not be seen by her opponent. Aragorn looked shocked before coming at her again, this time fists raised.

Stella laughed, 'completely different worlds and still all men fight the same' she thought ruefully. She sparred with him for several minutes using the dagger to leave small cuts just deep enough to weaken his attacks. She soon tired of this style of fighting, knowing that it wasn't exactly fair because he had no weapon. She grabbed his arm as he moved to throw another punch, that she easily side-stepped, using his weight to fling herself over his shoulder and landing on his back the dagger pressed to his neck.

Stella let out a light laugh before whispering in Aragorn's ear.

"I think that means I won." She was excited, glad that she still had some amount of skills here.

Letting out another short chuckle she quickly threw the dagger into one of the surrounding tree, lodging it directly into a knot in the tree. She dismounted Aragorn's back and moved to retrieve the dagger.

"That was very impressive." Aragorn stated, though Stella could tell he was a bit peeved that he had lost to her. "You said you have a good shot, want to show me?"

Stella shrugged, when she had said that she meant with a gun but 'what was the difference really?' she asked herself. She had only picked up a bow and arrow twice, and both times she had been corrected for ding something wrong, but she knew the basic rules behind it.

'Three fingers to pull back and don't hyperextend either arm' she thought to her self as she picked her target. She pulled back careful not to draw back too far but weary of not pulling back far enough. She took a deep breath; this part is the same as the firing range. Line up the shot; feet shoulder width apart, eyes open, aim, and fire. She released the arrow and to her surprise it didn't land at her feet, as she had half expected, instead it glided through the air landing not anywhere near the centre of her target but it did reach her intended goal. She smiled as she looked back to Aragorn.

He frowned "were you aiming to miss?" he asked, his face was serious although his voice held a small amount of humour.

"Well to be fair, when I talked about my shot I wasn't talking about this." She gestured at the bow and quiver that now lay in the ground. "Back home we have these things called guns. They are very powerful and work by using a small spark to ignite an explosive powder that shoots a piece of metal at a target."

She smiled at his confusion and look awe as she described a gun.

"It works sort of like an arrow but it's stronger and takes significantly less skill that a bow." She looked down "I hate guns but I wanted to feel safe so I learned anyways."

Aragorn nodded still lost by her description of that weapon. Not noticing when she had asked him a question. She waved her hand in his face trying to get his attention.

"Woohoo! Anyone there, did you even hear what I just asked?" she laughed.

Aragorn shook his head coming back to the conversation.

"I asked if I could ask you a question?" she looked up at him shyly.

He nodded again not sure where this was going.

"I don't really know anyone else on this adventure thing besides you," she started, "and Boromir", she added with a shiver "I was just hoping you could introduce me, or at least tell me a little bit about them." She was smirking now, knowing just how to get under his skin.

"Especially Legolas he is so beautiful." she sighed adopting a wistful look in her eye, "I mean have you seen the way he walks, with so much importance, and his eyes, I could get lost in his eye." She chuckled as she saw Aragorn's shock turn into disgust.

''Forgive me I was under the impression that I held your affections, if that is not the case I suppose I could say something to him." He looked down in true disappointment.

Stella couldn't help but laugh at Aragorn's disappointment.

"I was only joking!" she exclaimed "You do hold my affections, I wouldn't look twice at him when I could look at you. Besides blond men aren't my type. I always preferred dark hair, a tall man, with a little stubble." She whispered

She was stroking his cheek, moving up on her toes, snaking her hands around his neck, pleased when his arms came to rest on her hips. She was so close to him, she could easily close the small gap, and she looked up into his eyes. He was inching his head closer to hers never breaking eye contact. Just as their lips were about to touch Stella heard a small rustling sound, she looked around and her eyes grew large. Aragorn looked around following Stella's gaze and then he saw her, Arwen.

She stood there analysing the situation she had walked in on. She looked at them with a small frown and wet eyes. Stella felt awful, just because she was with Aragorn now didn't mean that she had to flaunt it in the woman's face. Arwen opened her mouth to say something before shutting it again and rushing away. She was not quite fast enough as they heard her cry only a few seconds later.

Stella slowly withdrew her arms looking guilty but not wanting to brig it up again. Aragorn looked somewhere between angry and guilty.

"So how about you introduce me to the rest of this motley crew?" she asked hoping it would diffuse the tension.

It only worked half as well as she wanted it to as he smiled at her before leading her back to the building they had come from and into a room with many tables. The three people she would be spending the foreseeable future with occupied one table in the corner far out of the line of sight. It looked as if Gimli and Legolas were in a heated argument and Gandalf sat there trying to lessen the tension between the two.

"For the last time, it really is good! Just give it a try." Legolas implored, pushing the plate of greens towards the dwarf.

Gimli harrumphed looking down at the plate in disgust.

"I will not even grace it with the title of food!" He exclaimed

"The stubbornness of a dwarf is truly unparalleled. No wonder you all decide to live in caves, rock is the only substance that can withstand the strength of your head!" Legolas fumed.

Gimli opened his mouth to retort but the old wizard intervened, effectively ending the argument.

"Ah, Aragorn, how nice of you to join us!" he exclaimed, "And Stella, we have not yet met." Gandalf's eyes looked friendly as he observed the couple. "Sit! Sit!" he motioned to two free chairs.

"Legolas, Gimli, this is Stella." Aragorn introduced her to the group.

"How could we forget such a pretty face," Gimli stated gruffly "not to mention the amazing display the other day." He laughed.

This comment earned a chuckle from the three other men and Stella beamed.

"Ah, master dwarf, do not underestimate the girl's talent," Aragorn chuckled "She showed me up today with a dagger." He was boasting now.

Stella figured it was because he wanted to keep the conversation ignoring Legolas. 'Maybe I made him a little jealous' Stella thought with a smirk as she continued to talk to Gimli about her talents.

"Daggers are all well and good," Legolas cut in sharply "but you will need to know far more than that to survive on this journey."

Stella scowled and Aragorn couldn't help but feel pleased that they weren't getting on well.

"I am perfectly capable of other things. Back home I had one of the cleanest shots, head and chest every time." she boasted, "It is hardly my fault that the weaponry here is rather lacking in my strong suit." She said with a small smile.

Legolas looked shocked unsure of how to respond.

"What does that mean? An archer is an archer regardless of location." He finally responded with a furrowed brow.

"Well that would be the problem then wouldn't it? I am not an archer." She concluded.

"But you shot things?" Gimli interjected looking just as confused as the elf.

"Well, yes but not arrows. You know what just forget it. I have already explained it once today and I really don't think I could do it again." She resisted the urge to yell at their naïveté remembering that she wasn't home anymore.

"Well I could help you," Legolas offered, "If you want, that is." The second part of his sentence was lost as he caught the furious look Aragorn shot him before he looked away.

Stella looked over at Aragorn confused 'great his super possessive, why does this not surprise me?' she thought. She reached for his hand that rested in his lap giving it a small encouraging squeeze while smiling. She saw his shoulders relax before re-joining the conversation.

"What is it that you did in your home?" Gimli questioned

Stella smiled, 'even it different worlds the questions are the same'.

"I was a student," she started "but really the whole reason I went to school was to ride horses." She stated. "I wasn't half bad either, I rode them competitively." She smiled remembering Ares she missed him desperately.

Legolas' eyes lit up as she mentioned the horses.

"You are sure you are not an elf?" he joked

Stella smiled

"I'm pretty sure. Seeing, as elves don't exist back home. I mean we have stories about elves but in every story they are under 4 feet tall and either work for a fat man making presents for boys and girls, or they are enslaved and forbidden from wearing proper clothes." She smirked at the horror Legolas' face.

Gimli snorted into his drink causing him to cough and splutter.

"Excuse me?" Legolas shouted, "That is insulting!" he fumed turning red.

The rest of the group just laughed at his reaction to the news.

The group continued talking for a while more before Stella could no longer suppress her yawns. She excused herself and as she left the room she heard Aragorn excuse himself as well. She walked to her room knowing Aragorn was following close behind her.

As she made it to her door she paused. She liked him a lot but she really didn't want him in her room, mostly because she didn't trust herself. He came up behind her mid thought. He wrapped his hands around her waist, turning her around to face him and pressing her into a hug.

Stella giggled into the hug, not wanting it to end. Finally when he pulled away she saw the look in his eye.

"I just had to come and say goodnight. And apologise for my behaviour back there I just couldn't help but think about what you said earlier." He looked guilty.

Stella laughed.

"Oh you are just a big sweetie under all of that!" she exclaimed running her hand over his arm, she noticed his small wince as she ran her hand over her forearm. She was at a loss for the reason until it dawn on her, when they were fighting earlier that day she had nicked him several times with the dagger.

Her mouth formed a small 'oh' shape as she looked down at his arms, the sleeves of is white shirt were speckled with red dots.

"Why didn't you say something?" she questioned, embarrassed that she hadn't noticed earlier.

"They are nothing, it's fine." He shrugged.

Stella was not about to ignore the cuts now that she saw them.

"Here, why don't you come in and I can at least clean them up." She offered. He opened his mouth to protest but Stella was hearing none of it. "Don't be stubborn, besides it isn't everyday I ask a man to come into my room." She smirked.

Stella opened the door and took a calming breath before motioning for him to come in. He still looked uneasy, but followed her in. She pointed to a small table and he sat down allowing her to roll up his sleeves. He hissed as she pressed a wet cloth to the cuts.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, "for hurting you, I just wanted to prove that I could take care of myself."

He nodded "Well I would say that you did that." He chucked.

She tried to find a position for her to sit in that was going to be comfortable as she saw the multitude of cuts she had left on him. She had him sit facing the table and she climbed up facing him, letting her legs dangle over the edge falling at the sides of his thighs. She noticed him tense as he took in their position and proximity. She smirked as she cleaned the last of his visible cuts they now just looked like red lines.

"Any more?" she asked.

He looked uncomfortable, but nodded his head.

"Are you going to show me?" she asked again, getting annoyed with his standoffish behaviour.

"It's fine," he started to protest.

Stella cut him off by suddenly tugging his shirt over his head, looking at his torso. 'Calm down, Stella, you have seen guys in much less' she reminded herself, but boys back home never quite looked like this. He was beautiful; he had strong muscles that rippled under her touch. She took another calming breath and then sucked it in again as she saw the rather nasty gash she had left on his side. 'Great now I can add injuring a king to list of things I have done' she thought sarcastically.

She slowly began cleaning the cut, inching her body closer to his, pretending that she was doing it to get more comfortable as she cleaned the gash.

When she was done she pulled away looking at his face. He didn't look upset by her actions so she took that as a good sign.

"I'm sorry." She stated again.

He just shook his head moving closer to her.

"Don't be, you are strong." He whispered.

His body kept creeping closer to hers before slowly his lips touched hers. It was a slow sweet kiss, not demanding in any way. She pulled his head closer to hers with her arms around his neck. His hands to the top of her thighs making slow patterns that drifted up further and further. She moved her hands over his shoulder blades and down his well sculpted back.

Slowly she pulled back looking in his eyes before she let out a small yawn. He chuckled before moving away putting his shirt back on. Stella couldn't help but pout a little. He laughed and kissed her forehead.

"You should get some rest." He said with a chuckle still in his voice.

"You should get some rest too. Oh look there's a bed right there" she joked pointing over at the bed.

He laughed,

"Goodnight Stella." He whispered before heading out of the room.

She shook her head, unsure of that made her act and say those things. 'I guess it's just what he does to me. Next time I should probably hold my tongue' she thought as she got into the bed.


	8. Climbing a Mountain

The fellowship gathered at the gates of Rivendell and as Elrond made his final remarks to the group Stella saw Aragorn's eye fall on Arwen, she looked upset though she was not crying instead her eyes held pure rage as she watched the group turn to leave. The look made her shiver because Arwen's hateful glare was not placed on Aragorn but rather on Stella.

Stella looked away, ashamed to admit her fear of the beautiful woman. She followed blindly the person in front of her, recognizing briefly that it was Gimli. They left Rivendell with very little fanfare and as the day progressed Stella grew wistful for the safety of the gardens. She found herself walking close to Aragorn, who had taken a position somewhere in the middle of the group.

"Could you tell me a little about what a ranger does exactly?" She asked him.

"I was under the impression that you knew? You accepted my answer so quickly when we first met." Aragorn answered looking confused.

"Well I thought I did. See back home we have rangers, they are a section of the army that are trained to survive extreme situations and 'Know No Fear' but I have come to the conclusion that that's not really what you are." Stella explained, she had heard all about the glories of being a ranger from her brother. Stella really didn't like to think about him and didn't want to talk about him. Even with Aragorn.

Aragorn chuckled "No, that's not exactly what I do, I travel a lot." He looked lost in thought, "I protect the land," he added.

To Stella it sounded a lot like he didn't really have a job, but Stella held her tongue, not wanting to hurt his feelings. She opted just to nod instead.

"That sounds a lot like when students take a year off to travel." She exclaimed instead, internally smacking her self for not just shutting up when she had the chance. "What I mean is, well, when students don't really know what they want to study they take a year off to travel and hope to come to some understanding of themselves." She explained.

"It has been far longer than a year, and still it would appear that he had no idea what to do." Boromir interjected looking upset.

"Eavesdropping is a terribly unattractive quality Boromir, I suggest you quit while you are ahead." Stella snapped. She was unsure why she disliked Boromir so much he just gave her a bad vibe.

The group came to a rocky outcropping where the group paused to rest. Stella was confused by the rather lazy pace but said nothing to contradict it, enjoying the immense beauty of this world. She found herself sitting up on a rock with Legolas while he watched the sky, apparently looking at something Stella could not see. Sam was starting a fire, preparing lunch, and talking with Frodo in hushed tones.

"Did you mean what you said?" Stella asked quietly, she really didn't want the others to hear her ask for help. "About teaching me." She nudged his bow that lay by his side.

"I would gladly help you. If you promise to show me your skills with a dagger, I have to admit I became rather curious after all of Aragorn's talk." Legolas smiled warmly.

Stella could tell that they would make quick friends and grinned back at him. "I can manage that," she laughed, "and thank you." She whispered.

She smiled again before returning her attention to Merry and Pippin who were now practicing how to use the swords they had been given with Boromir's help. Every once and a while Aragorn would interject, telling the pair to move their feet faster or to just be quicker in general. Stella laughed at the scene as it quickly ended with Boromir on his back being restrained by the two hobbits. Aragorn got involved and the situation only increased in hilarity as he also landed on his back thanks to a swift kick from Pippin.

It was in the midst of the laughter that Stella noticed the change in Legolas' expression as he looked into the distance She followed his gaze looking at the small black cloud. As she looked closer she noticed that it was moving faster than the other surrounding clouds.

"What is that?" she whispered to Legolas.

"It is nothing!" Gimli exclaimed.

His shout caused Stella to jump; she had not realized that he had come so close to them.

"It is moving fast." Aragorn noted.

"And against the wind" Boromir added.

Suddenly there was a bout of commotion as Legolas jumped up and yelled something at such a speed that Stella could not possibly understand.

She got up and stood there, rather dumbly, as the rest of the group moved to hide under the rocks. At the last minute Boromir came up to her and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her back under the rock he was using to hide. Stella opened her mouth to protest his actions but was silenced by his large hand placed over her mouth. She was struggling against his hold but immediately halted her movements as she saw hundreds of black birds swarm the rocks.

As soon as the birds had vanished she saw Aragorn raise his head from his hiding place Stella took the opportunity to raise her concerns about Boromir's actions. She bit his hand that still rested on her mouth before wrestling her way out of his grasp.

"What the hell man?" She shouted at him.

"Forgive me I was just saving your life and the safety of the fellowship!" he yelled back at her.

"You are a nut!" Stella barked "They were just birds! What could hey have done? I told you not to touch me!"

She would have continued to yell if she had not felt a hand on her shoulder. She was still on edge from Boromir's manhandling and reacted on instinct as she grabbed the wrist of the offending hand. She shifted her weight, crouching slightly, using her momentum and strength to flip the man behind her. She looked down to see Aragorn's surprised face.

Stella covered her mouth with her hands, "Oh my God I am so sorry!" She whispered helping him back up on his feet. "I didn't mean to do that, I'm sorry! I thought you were someone else." She told him.

He shook his head. "It is alright, I was just going to tell you that Boromir was right. Those were not just birds they were spies of Saruman. They do actually pose a threat to us." He told her.

Stella hung her head, she wasn't used to these things being real and she never meant for anyone to get hurt especially Aragorn. She sighed attempting to make light of the situation.

"Well if elves and dwarves can be real, why not spy birds. It sounds like a Disney story, but I'll go with it." What choice did she have, it wasn't as if she could just pack up and go back home.

The others looked at her with curiosity, but Stella just shrugged looking away from them. The group remained silent until Gandalf spoke.

"This route is being watched, we must take the pass of Caradhras." He spoke solemnly. Stella hadn't known the wizard very long but she had come to realize that when he made statements they were to be taken seriously. Stella had no idea what that meant but judging by the looks the rest of the company was giving him; she assumed it wouldn't be a pleasant trip.

'Not a pleasant trip, what an understatement' Stella thought angrily as she trudged through the snow. It was a mountain, much larger than the mountains she had seen at home, and it was snowing, and she was cold. Stella could handle a lot of things but when she got cold she tended to get a little crabby. Gandalf led the group, though he was so far ahead of Stella that she cold not see him, and Legolas was in the back seemingly unaffected by the snow. He seemed to float on top of the ground with his light feet; Stella had tried to copy his movement. She found that, while she sunk more than he did it was nothing compared to Aragorn and Boromir who each were carrying two hobbits. They had both sunk to the ground with only their heads and shoulders peaking up from the snow. Stella grimaced.

"My feet will not take me another inch. I am frozen solid!" she complained, "There has to be a better way than this! Good God it is cold." She would have continued to complain if she had not caught the nasty glares the rest of the group were sending her.

"You are not even sinking beneath the snow! What would you know of the cold?" Boromir asked rudely.

Stella wanted to be witty with her remark but held her tongue still hoping to make up to him for the bite marks she had left.

"He is right Stella, you haven't sunk into the soft snow. What is your secret?" Aragorn asked trying to break the tension between the two.

"I have no idea I just tried copying Legolas' moves and it worked. It's probably because I have a bit less weight to carry than the rest of you." She shrugged, only realizing how rude her words sounded after they left her mouth.

"Are you calling us large?" Gimli shouted, almost buried completely in the snow.

"What? No I was just referring to the hobbits you carry and well lets face it you are larger than me." Stella stated.

It was fact she was the lightest of the group. She couldn't help it; she was an athlete if her gained too much she would be worthless in a competition. The lean muscle she had acquired from training made her small but powerful.

Legolas moved up to the front of the group.

"There is a fell voice on the wind!" he declared.

'That is one bit of home that I do truly miss, why can no one just say what they mean?' Stella thought to herself. Snow began falling from the mountaintop. Gandalf began chanting in some language Stella could not comprehend. Though his chanting seemingly did nothing as more snow landed on top of Stella covering her so that only the top of her head stuck out.

She could barely hear the voices of the others when more snow covered her further. It was then that Stella's world went dark, she couldn't hear the group, and she could tell she was running out of air. Frantically she began to dig herself out of the snow but quickly ran out of energy to make much progress. As she teetered on the brink of consciousness she saw light above her, she looked up and saw Aragorn looking worried. Stella allowed herself to be dragged up from the snow, to weak to move or acknowledge anyone. She was cold and now she was wet. Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized the dangers of this particular situation. Hypothermia. But her fears were never voiced as she slipped out of consciousness.

When she awoke the group was no longer on the mountain, it was warmer but not much. Stella groaned as she moved her head, it was pounding. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Aragorn's worried face.

"She's awake!" he exclaimed

"Yes, yes and I am quite fine to sit up." She croaked

"You gave us quite a scare there," came Gandalf's voice, he was looking at her as if making sure she was really okay.

"Yes well I would say that it is very scary to buried in snow but I really wouldn't know." She exclaimed sarcastically, looking down at her clothes.

She had been changed; she was no longer wearing her soaking clothes. Her face turned scarlet, someone had seen her naked. 'Oh God the tattoo!' she though worriedly. She looked over at Aragorn who was still sitting next to her looking afraid that she might pass out at any moment.

"I am not in my clothes." She stated.

"I am sorry, I was so worried you had turned blue and weren't warming up even once we had cleared the mountain," he stumbled over the words. "I managed to find something to cover you in, I promise I did not let anyone else see." He looked up at her.

"It's okay, I understand, I probably would have died if you hadn't. I was just wondering if you had seen the tattoo." Stella asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"You mean the marking on your back, I have never seen something like that. What is it?" He asked, curious.

Well he had seen it she had to explain it. She took a deep breath before she started the story behind that one.

"It's called a tattoo, at least that's what they are called back home. They are very common where I am from. Ink is placed on a needle and it is pierced into the skin. It lasts forever." She stopped that was the easy part. "Everybody gets them for different reasons, I got mine when I came of age on my birthday." She had been so excited, she was so young, it was only two years ago but it felt like an eternity since she had gotten it, she had grown up a lot since then.

"It's a picture of a sun and moon." She turned around raising the blue shirt exposing her back. "At the time I thought it was a symbol of conflicting emotions; light and dark, anger and peace, hot and cold, that kind of thing. Anyways it took me about a year and a horrible breakup to realize that isn't really why I got it." She turned back around looking at him, "the guy ended up not being the one and when I went to try and get rid of everything that reminded me of him I realized I couldn't get rid of the thing that reminded me of him the most." She looked up at him.

He looked torn between mad and curious.

"Go ahead ask." She looked at him blankly; it was probably best to get this all out in the open anyways. 'Better him finding it this way than in some other topless activity' she thought with a small grimace; that was assuming there were going to be topless activities.

"This man, he meant a lot to you?" he questioned.

"Yes, at one point in my life I thought we would be married, I thought I loved him. I knew him for many years." She explained waiting for the inevitable question to arise.

"What did he do?" Aragorn asked.

There it was, Stella cringed.

"He joined the army, when we were in the middle of a war. I begged him not to, but he enlisted the day he was old enough. I cried for days sure that he was going to get himself blown up. When I was done crying we fought all of the time. He wanted to serve his country, but I hated this war everything about it was wrong. He felt the same but he wanted to help he wanted to protect what 'he loved'. Eventually I got to a point where I could look at him and be proud of what he had done, and then he was sent away to go fight. He was gone for almost a year before he came back, and even when he came back he wasn't the same." She looked at Aragorn with sadness etched into her face.

"I tried to make it work, but one day we were talking and all of the sudden he went mad, he started throwing things around the room smashing everything he touched. It took me hours to finally calm him down and once I did I saw his eyes, they weren't the eyes I fell in love with." She paused not wanting to overload Aragorn with the details. "We ended up slitting about two weeks after that." She gave Aragorn a moment to digest it all before she looked up at him.

"That is very sad," he finally stated.

"It was, but anyways the tattoo's there, most of the time I just tell people I had too much to drink one night." She gave a dry laugh. "Don't be too sorry for me, if that hadn't have happened I probably wouldn't be here." She reasoned giving a real smile.

He smiled at her but she could see the lingering sadness in his eyes.

"What was his name?" he asked quietly

"Brandon, his name was Brandon you can even see it in the tattoo if you look close enough." She whispered.

Stella turned for a second time revealing her back.

"Very small, along the edge of the moon." She whispered, wincing as she felt his finger run across the tattoo where she knew his name was written.

"Where are we headed?" She asked abruptly, hoping she didn't sound rude.

"To the mines of Moria, the mountain proved impassable." Gandalf responded, Stella jumped she had forgotten that the rest of the group could hear their conversation.

"Okay," she exclaimed, "what are we waiting for?"

The rest of the fellowship laughed at her eagerness, but started to move again once Stella had proven that she could walk without falling over.

"Who's pants am I wearing?" She asked Aragorn "seriously leather pants aren't supposed to be this loose!" She complained.

"Those would be mine. They went meant for you to move about in, just to cover you." He chuckled at her discomfort but handed Stella her clothes that were now dry.

She quickly ducked behind a rock to change her pants but left his shirt on, it was much more comfortable than hers. When she came back again she smiled at him.

"I am stealing your shirt and you are never getting it back!" she declared, laughing at his shocked face.

He just laughed, "As you wish." He whispered so that only she could hear.

Stella paused shocked by his statement, she realized that he probably only said it because Stella had said something ridiculous and he could think of no other response. However Stella couldn't help but remember a movie Stella had once watched where 'as you wish' meant 'I love you'.


	9. The Tomb of Moria

The hike to Moria was much more suited to Stella's desires. The path was devoid of snow and it was all down hill. She almost jumped for joy when she had discovered this fact.

"This way is much easier," She commented, "why didn't we come this way to begin with? Would have saved us a hell of a lot of trouble." She asked innocently.

"You should ask Gandalf!" Gimli exclaimed looking delighted at the girl's enthusiasm "Just wait until you experience the hospitality of the dwarves, you will never want to leave."

Stella looked over at Gandalf noticing that he looked disturbed by the mere mention of the mines they were about to enter.

"I wouldn't say that so quickly, Gimli, back home I could not stand being indoors all day. I craved the outdoors, when I was with my family we would go to the ocean and I would revel in the sun and sand. Not to mention the waves, I could watch them for hours. I remember when I was little I had gone too far in the water and couldn't touch the ocean floor, I just let the waves push me back to shore." She smiled wistfully at the mention of home.

"You have seen the sea?" Legolas questioned looking rather jealous.

"Yes, many times. I grew up in a place called Malibu; it sits right on the ocean. My parents have a beach home that looks out on the water. Why?" now Stella was curious.

"I have never seen the sea, I can only imagine its great beauty." Legolas answered.

"You're joking! Never seen the ocean? The rest of you have, right?" She asked looking at each traveller.

She watched as each one of them shook their heads.

"Wow, a life without the ocean. I'm sorry! None of you have ever experienced the bikini season!" She joked before realizing that they would have no idea what that was.

"What's a _'bikni'?_" Boromir asked.

Stella grinned, pleased that she would have a chance to shock all of them.

"Well it's an article of clothing, well actually it's two, and people swim in them." She grinned, "The top is made out of two small triangles," She made a triangle with her hands, "about this size, and they are connected with straps. The bottom is another piece that covers from here to here." She indicated where a bikini bottom covered.

Everyone looked shocked by her description before Boromir spoke again.

"I cannot fathom a lady electively wearing such disgraceful amount clothing." Boromir blushed thinking about Stella's description.

"You are somewhat right, some people cover their stomachs. Most don't in fact they work hard for the bodies to show off." She giggled as she saw Aragorn's face.

He looked torn somewhere between longing and confusion. Stella let the conversation drop as Boromir gave a disgusted snort and made a rude comment about my home's moral standard.

Stella snorted, "he wouldn't be saying that if he saw what I was talking about." She commented to Aragorn.

He just chuckled and nodded. She grinned pleased that he hadn't had the same reaction as Boromir.

The group followed a wall of rock that ran next to a stream that ended in a small lake. It was then made clear to Stella that dwarf doors are invisible when closed.

"Yes, because that makes perfect sense!" she grumbled under her breath earning a proud smile from Legolas.

Gandalf stopped suddenly, 'maybe he can see something I can't' Stella thought as she saw him dust of the rock wall. Suddenly he was chanting things holding his staff to the wall. It light up and Stella had to take a small step back, shocked by the sudden appearance of a door.

"Wow, that is beautiful." She commented breathlessly.

The beauty of the doors and the strange writing that surrounded them entranced her. She looked carefully at the inscription, back home she could speak several languages but she had never seen anything so beautiful. She went to sit by Legolas, who was sitting on a rock looking in the complete opposite direction.

"What language is that? It looks far more complex than French some of those marks look almost German but I can't read any of it." She explained

He smiled though she could see a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"It is one of the languages of the elves." He stated, "There are many things written on that door, though the line I suspect means the most is 'speak friend and enter'" He finished.

"What does that mean?" Stella asked.

"It is quite simple, if you are a friend simply speak the password to enter." Gandalf explained as he chanted words at the door.

Nothing happened.

"Rather anti-climactic" Stella commented lightly "I think you might be loosing your touch, old man." She laughed

"I assure you Miss. Stella, I have not lost anything!" he responded with a mild glare and a chuckle in his voice.

She looked over at Aragorn, as he was reprimanded Merry and Pippin for throwing stones into the water. She sighed catching Legolas' eye.

"Don't start with me! She exclaimed he is nice to look at." She chuckled

Legolas laughed.

"You know he told me about what you said to him." He looked at her waiting for her response "about me." He clarified.

"Oh, you mean that whole thing about your eyes?" She asked with a laugh. He nodded "Well I hate to disappoint you but I only said it to get a rise out of him, I mean I suppose your eyes are nice enough but everything about you reminds me of my brother. Except the hair, his was shorter, it was blond like yours though." She stated absently playing with the end of his long hair. "As beautiful as your eyes may be I can assure you I'm not getting lost in them." She laughed

He laughed along with her.

"I only bring it up because he seemed rather angry when he told me. You should know he cares about you, perhaps a bit more than is healthy."

He laughed again, "I remind you of your brother?"

"Yes, Will looked just like you. He even acted the same, always so serious." She giggled.

The sound caught Aragorn's eye and he looked up to see Stella and Legolas in a deep conversation, he felt a sharp pang of jealousy run through him. He was about to go over and demand to know what the two were talking about but he was interrupted.

It was then that Gandalf was able to open the doors with a fair amount of help from Frodo. The group quickly made to head into the mine with Gimli boasting about all of the wonderful attributes that the dwarf dwelling had to offer.

Stella smiled, glad that he was willing and eager to share this part of him. Distracted by his description of the food they would eat, which Stella thought sounded absolutely repulsive, she did not see the pile in front of her. She tripped sprawling onto the cold stone floor face to face with a skull, an arrow still lodged in it. She reacted on instinct drawing herself away from the ugly thing and letting out an ear-shattering scream.

Aragorn was by her side in an instant, he looked at the skull and motioned over for the rest of the group to look.

"This is no mine, this is a tomb." Boromir whispered.

Legolas dislodged the arrow from the skull, "Goblins!" He stated to the group.

"We need to get out of here, now!" someone shouted.

Stella didn't need to be told twice, she sprinted for the door as fast as her feet would carry her. She made it to the entrance before the rest of the group made their way back she noticed the water rippling. She stared at it curious as to what might cause such a movement without any breeze to cause it. Frodo, who had been in the back, was the first to catch up with her.

He made a move to continue further out into the light he was suddenly dragged to the ground a large tentacle wrapped around his ankle. Stella watched shocked by what had just happened. The others were still a few feet away and whatever had grabbed Frodo was pulling him further into the black water. Stella sprang into action, not knowing exactly what she was doing only that she had to save her friend.

She pulled the two daggers she had been given by Aragorn out, quickly using blunt force to hack away at the tentacle that had a hold of Frodo. She managed to free him from the monster's grasp only to be attacked by yet another tentacle. Frodo grabbed up again along with Stella, the two were suspended over the monsters head that was now raised above the water. Stella shrieked swinging wildly as she dangled by her foot, using her momentum to enter a sitting position on the giant octopus type animal. She ran her dagger through the tentacle that held her, only realizing the mistake she made after it was to late. By relinquishing the monsters hold on her foot there was nothing keeping her suspended in mid-air, she suddenly found herself falling into the creatures head. Stella narrowly missed entering the creatures waiting mouth by jabbing a dagger into one of the thing's eyes. She looked around her; she saw both Boromir and Aragorn in the water attacking the multiple tentacles that had risen from the water. Frodo was propped up against the wall looking wet and small. Legolas was standing on a rock attempting to get a clean shot of the monster. She wondered briefly why he hadn't taken the shot already before she realized she was in his way.

She hoisted herself up, using the firmly lodged dagger as leverage, onto the thing's head before using her other dagger to pierce through the top of the creature's head effectively halting its movements. Stella could tell it was not dead but it was too injured to fight back.

She jumped down into the icy water and trudged back to the shore when suddenly the beast started moving again.

"Quick back into the mines!" there was a shout.

Stella winced she had no desire to willing walk back into death but understood that staying here would mean certain death. This creature was strong they could not hope to survive another attack. The group ran to the cave in one last attempt to get at Frodo the monster wrapped its tentacles around the doorframe. There was a loud crumbling sound as the doors caved in and the world, once again, became dark.

"What now?" one of the hobbits inquired.

Stella could see in the dark as Gandalf produced a small light from his staff.

"We have no choice, we must travel through the depths of Moria" Gandalf whispered, looking around appraisingly.

Stella heard that it was going to be a four-day journey and internally winced, four days in the dark, four days in a place littered with the dead. She was going to go mental.

They began the long trek through the dark in silence. This was one thousand times worse than climbing the mountain, not only was she cold from her previous dip in the ice water but she could now no longer feel the fresh air on her face or see the sky.

When they paused for the night, although it could very well have been day it was impossible to tell due to the lack of natural light, Stella immediately curled into a ball leaning against the wall. Aragorn approached her with a pitiful look in his eye.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

Stella did not want to be snarky and she did not have the energy to by witty, instead she simply whimpered and nodded a 'yes'.

"Here take this." He handed her a cloak similar to the one he wore. Stella looked at it before she realized that this cloak was not similar to his, it was his. She shook her head.

"I can not take the clothes of your back." She whispered, her voice hoarse from all of the screaming she had done.

"If I willingly give it to you, you are simply accepting a gift." He stated, looking at her shivering form.

"We will share it, how does that sound?" she asked, oddly nervous for his response.

He looked at her questioningly, "and how do you propose we do that?" he asked softly.

Stella motioned for him to sit down, he sat next to her, and she revelled in his proximity. Regardless of how many times she found herself next to him she could not help but enjoy the warmth he provided. Stella opened the cloak placing it over the two of them. She sleepily made herself comfortable against his shoulder loving the feeling as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Thank you." She mumbled as fatigue set across her body, "for protecting me."

"I will always protect you." He murmured quietly.

She allowed herself to fall asleep bet not before she checked to make sure that the two daggers she carried were secure one strapped to her forearm, the other tucked into her boot. She may have felt safe with Aragorn next to her but she had lived through too much to ever fully let her guard down.

**AN: Hi guys! So I have a huge favour to ask all of you! I can se that a lot of people are reading this story, and that's good it tells me I'm at least getting the basics down, but I really want to hear from you. Tell me what I'm doing right, or wrong; it will help me improve the story. So in the end this benefits you! Thanks! **


	10. More Darkness

Stella awoke with a jolt as her pillow moved beneath her.

"Stay still!" She grumbled, pressing her face further into the soft mass she rested her head on.

She heard her pillow laugh. 'Wait a second, pillows don't laugh' she thought her eyes snapping open. She looked down at what she had once believed to be a pillow and into the amused face of Aragorn. She pulled her self up realizing that she had her head resting in his lap and had been nuzzling with his side. She flushed mortified by her actions.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you like that!" She whispered noticing the others were asleep.

"Do not apologise, I would have continued to let you sleep but your nose," he broke off laughing at her mortified expression.

"Oh God, what have I done? I am so sorry!" she exclaimed assuming her face had landed where it clearly did not belong.

"No, no you don't have to be sorry! It was just that your nose was pressing into that cut you gave me last week. I was only trying to adjust, I had no intention to wake you up." He explained.

Stella let out a breath, 'Oh thank the Lord!' she gave a silent prayer. It was only after that when she realized what he had said.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She stated again only this time with less vigour. "I can move over here if you want?" she motioned further away.

Aragorn shook his head, "there is no need for that, and your actions were not so severe." He reasoned, still smiling at her embarrassment.

Stella giggled, "well, okay, I suppose."

She smiled at him glad that he was not upset about her actions. She situated herself against him again, cautious not to rest to firmly into his side. Feeling her eyes grow heavy, she let sleep over come her again.

When she awoke next it was to the loud banging of something metal against stone. Stella jerked forward; her sleep had been marred by images of that creature. She had never seen anything like that; she had never done anything like that. The fact that she could even think, let alone act, against a creature like that made her skin crawl.

It may have been naïve of her, but she thought when everyone spoke of dangers they were referring to men that would attempt to take advantage of her on the way. Those she could deal with, strange things coming out of the water? No. Not in her wildest dreams would that be something she would have to face. She fell asleep clutching onto daggers for God's sake, since when did that happen?

She would be the first to admit that the months following that night at the bar she slept with pepper spray grasped in her hand under her pillow. Knives were different, pepper spray would hurt like a bitch for a minute but was relatively harmless, knives could leave permanent wounds. The thought made Stella shiver.

She looked over the sound came from Sam, he had accidentally hit the cast iron pan against the wall as he was packing up his bag. The sound effectively woke up the rest of the fellowship, although it did garner him some nasty looks from everyone including Stella.

The group began to move and after only a small breakfast, much to the complaints of the hobbits, and started walking again. Stella found that much of the time it was required of everyone to just be quite and though she hated it she began to come up with a game to judge distance in her head.

She would pick a point far ahead of the group and judge the distance in summersaults; her mother had enrolled her in gymnastics summer camp when she was five the farthest she had ever gotten was the summersault. 'Thirty-five summersaults to that rock' she thought happily. She saw Merry and Pippin conversing quietly in the back of the group. She fell back, hoping that they would include her in whatever they were talking about.

It turned out, not to her surprise, they were talking about the next mealtime. Stella laughed at their inpatients but quickly stopped when she say they were incredibly serious. It was then that she told them of the game she had devised; they quickly began to try it laughing as they argued how many summersaults it would take to get to the next bend in the pathway.

The day went by slowly as they walked on and on, it really held no interest for her to see the continuous stonewalls. It was not until the group came to a resting point that Stella's interest was piqued again. Aragorn came up to her handing her some dried meat and sitting down next to her. She regarded the meat sceptically, silently weighing the pros and cons for eating the hunk of flesh. Ultimately hunger won out and she gracelessly bit into it, grimacing. Aragorn laughed at her facial expression before silencing as her face turned into a glare.

"What is wrong?" he asked, he could sense a change in her attitude since entering this place.

"What makes you say that?" she questioned, "I'm fine!" She lied right through her teeth.

She couldn't help but hide her fears, she hated when people saw her as weak.

"Okay, if you refuse to tell me I will only assume the worst." He countered.

Stella grumbled.

"Fine, that thing scared the living daylight out of me!" she admitted, "and I hate being surrounded by death. I am not having a good time and I really just want to go home!" she wailed, no longer able to hide her thoughts. "I want to see my mom, and I never want to think about that beast again!" she was sobbing. "And I hate this!" she flung the meat out of her hand and into his lap.

Aragon had never seen her like this; she had never broken down once on this journey. Despite everything she had gone through she had faced it all with a smile and some strange remark. This was the first time she had let her true age show; she was just a child, alone and afraid. He did not know what to do, so he just sat there next to her letting her cry into his shoulder.

Once her hysterics had subsided he moved from her side rummaging around in one of the bags that held some food. He found an apple and returned back next to her. She had curled herself into a ball with her knees up by her chin looking of somewhere in space. He tentatively handed her the apple.

"I can only fix one of those problems," He stated with a small smile.

She returned it before sinking her teeth into the apple. Stella felt marginally better after crying and only slightly embarrassed by her outburst.

The next day followed in much the same fashion as the one before it and held absolutely no interest for Stella. She knew complaining would get her no where but she couldn't help the groan that left her mouth when she saw the flight of stairs they would have to ascend. The path was broken forcing the group to walk in a single file line, hugging the wall.

Gandalf mentioned something called 'mithril' pointing out the deep lines of silver that ran through the walls. It shimmered even without light causing Stella to pause, lightly placing a finger on the substance. 'I could have a room made of this stuff and never have enough' she thought wistfully before resuming walking.

They came to a halt when the path they had been following split in three directions. Gandalf started down one direction but took only three steps before turning around and staring at the archways.

"I have no memory of this." He muttered more to himself.

"When in doubt always pick C." Stella said looking completely serious as she quoted her favourite teacher in High School.

"What's that?" Pippin asked in complete sincerity.

Stella just laughed, "I could not explain multiple choice tests to you even if I really wanted to! It is a torture far worse than any you could imagine." She giggled enjoying herself immensely.

Pippin just shrugged; clearly he had decided that there were things about Stella that he would never understand, before turning back to Merry complaining of his hunger. When it became clear that they weren't going to be going anywhere for a while Stella moved to sit close to Aragorn.

"I'm sorry," She whispered.

When he didn't respond she assumed he was waiting for her to elaborate.

"I didn't mean to use you as my own personal hankie. I hate crying, it always leaves me feeling sleepy, and young." She explained

"You are young." He looked at her "It is understandable to miss your parents and home, not to mention you faced a very real danger. You were right you could take care of yourself."

She shook her head.

"You have made two grave errors in your analysis; One, I don't miss my parents, I miss my mother, and two, I can't take care of myself completely, I can't cook to save my life." She laughed remembering the last time she had attempted to cook something. "The last time I cooked something, it was as a romantic gesture for Brandon and I ended up giving him food poisoning. Without someone looking out for me I would probably starve!" She joked.

He laughed though she could tell he wanted to ask her something.

"You can ask, whatever it is that is on your mind. I tend to be an open book." She told him.

"What about your father? You don't miss him?"

"No, I don't. We never had a good relationship, he thought education wasn't something I should 'waste my time on' he didn't like me moving away. He really wanted me to get married and have a few mini–mes running around." She chuckled at the thought of her as a mother.

"Mini–mes?" he questioned.

"Kids," she clarified "In my fathers world women don't get an education, they get pregnant and there is nothing in between." She scowled.

He nodded.

"You don't want kids?" he asked, "I can't imagine a way for a woman not to have kids." He admitted looking off into the darkness.

"I want kids someday, I just don't want them now. I mean I was eighteen when he started pushing the marriage idea, I wasn't ready I'm still not ready." She answered, determined to answer every question he threw at her.

Nodding again, he looked at her. Stella couldn't place the look it was almost sad.

"Do you have any other family?"

"Yeah," She smiled "I had a brother, Will, he was great! Older than me by about four years and thought he knew everything there was to know about the world."

"What does he do?" He smiled at her.

"Oh, he was a ranger. Not your kind of ranger, the army kind I was telling you about. He is the whole reason Brandon joined the army. They were like brothers, whatever one did the other was sure to follow suite." She giggled remembering all of the trouble the three of them had gotten into.

"You look happy." Aragorn commented.

"When I was with them I was always happy, that was before the war. After, nothing was the same." She frowned, upset that she could not just let herself be happy.

Thankfully Gandalf chose that moment to remember the way.

"He's remembered!" Merry exclaimed.

"No, but the air smells less foul in this direction." Gandalf called back "When in doubt, Meriadoc, always trust your nose!"

"Oh yes, but 'always chose C' is so ridiculous!" Stella groused before moving to follow the rest of the group.

They descended the stairs seemingly erasing all of the work they had done only hours ago to climb up the stairs. They reached a huge room with many pillars, though it was so dark they could only see a few feet ahead of them. Suddenly Gandalf's staff was emanating more light, illuminating more of the room. It was beautiful; this type of architecture was long dead in Stella's world. She was reminded of the great cathedrals, though this was different. Those places were guarded and untouchable, this was neglected and seemingly abandoned but it managed to appear more welcoming then those famous landmarks of her world.

She shook her head, falling out of her reverie watching Gimli dash out form the group and through a door. They followed after him but by the time they had reached him all Stella could see was a mass on the ground and she could hear his laboured breath.

"No, no, no" he exclaimed.

Stella looked closer to see that he was kneeling in front of tomb.


	11. The Fall

Stella stared a Gimli's back afraid to step any closer. She stood by the door as if in a trance as Gandalf moved foreword reading from a book. Stella could not move she was frozen, petrified from fear, she really hated death. She wasn't listening to a word that was spoken, she closed her eyes hoping that my some grace of God she would wake up and she would be in her meadow and this would be one bad dream.

There was a loud banging noise that startled Stella from her thoughts. She looked over for the source of the noise; Pippin looked guilty and was trying to avoid the furious glare from Gandalf. Gandalf began yelling, making Pippin look as if he wanted to melt into the surrounding rock. Stella saw the look on Pippin's face and got angry with Gandalf for making such a big deal out of something that was clearly an accident. She moved forward placing herself between the pair.

"Now, just you wait one second!" she snapped, "It was clearly an accident, he didn't mean to do anything! There is no reason for you to be treating him like the dirt on your shoe!" She glowered at Gandalf, meeting the glare he sent her with one of her own. "You think you are so scary? Please, my history professor could do worse to me than you!" She lied.

Gandalf scarred the living daylight out of her but she was unable to show anyone that fear so instead she kept talking trying to suppress her fear.

"Picking on someone less than half your size, I thought you were more than a bully. Clearly you have proven me wrong, you are nothing but a bully with a beard and a stupid hat!" She screamed.

When she finally quieted down she heard a rhythmic beat that sounded far off but was steadily growing closer. Stella's eyes went big and darted to the door they had just come from. She slowly turned to Pippin.

"What did you do?" she whispered.

"Block the door!" someone barked.

Stella watched as Aragorn, Boromir, and Legolas rushed to barricade the door. Stella winced, earning the pointed stares of both Merry and Pippin. She couldn't help it; the idea that she would be locked further into the room with so many dead things made her want to be sick.

Perhaps it was due to the claustrophobia that Stella was suddenly dealing with, or maybe just the fatigue of constantly moving and barely eating, or maybe just unhappiness, either way Stella's brain was not moving as fast as she needed it to and she was lost in the flurry of action that was suddenly taking place in front of her. She saw Boromir narrowly avoid an arrow that came shooting past the door. Gimli was shouting something that her brain could not process. She willed her feet to move, trying to force them to take her somewhere out of the way.

She couldn't move, she watched as thousands of the ugliest creatures she had ever seen swarmed the room. As one of the creatures landed its attention on Stella she jumped almost three feet in the air. She was terrified, she knew that she could handle one of them but she really wasn't ready. She needed five more seconds to mentally prepare herself and get her feet to cooperate with her mind. She didn't have five more seconds as the creature sprang at her brandishing a crude looking sword. Finally her feet decided to work as she moved backwards, the creature continued its advance until she was against a wall. As the thing raised its sword to her throat suddenly there was an arrow poking through its skull.

Stella shrieked as the thing collapsed on top of her, with a look of disgust she pushed the thing away looking in the direction of the arrow. Stella saw Legolas shooting down several more of the creatures. She had never been more thankful in her entire life. That interaction was what she needed for her body to understand the severity of the situation and act on it. She grabbed the dagger that was still shrouded in her boot and looked around. She saw that everyone was fighting; even Sam took a few good swings at the offending creatures with his frying pan. Stella immediately felt guilty, all of her ranting about how she could take care of herself, but she had frozen when her life really depended on it.

She needed the people in this room, she realized that without Legolas she would be dead, without Boromir to barricade the door she would have much more to face, she realized that she needed to apologise to most of the fellowship for her selfish behaviour. It was this thought that made her spring into action, if she wanted to apologise to all of them after this she would need to live past this.

As another one of the creatures attacked her she was more prepared, she could at least move her feet, however she was not quick enough as she felt a searing pain start at her elbow and radiate down to her palm. She hissed in pain as she staggered back only barely catching her balance. Stella tried to lunge back at the thing wildly thrashing her arms hoping to land even one good blow. The technique, though lacking in grace or speed, did seem to do the trick the creature fell as Stella stepped foreword remembering the pain that it had caused only moments ago she had no problem plunging her knife through its chest.

She could almost jump for joy; she was so relieved that she had done anything helpful. She looked around and realised that in the time it had taken her to kill one of the things he group had collectively killed most of the rest. She laughed at herself and was about to make some witty comment when more of the creatures swarmed in this time accompanied but one of the largest things she had ever seen.

It was a stone grey colour, with a lazy eye it stood at least eight feet and filled the room. The thing dragged along a heavy looking bat-type thing. If it had not been certainly about to kill all of them, Stella would have laughed. This thing looked like only something some Hollywood special effects artist could come up with. The thing lumbered forward raising its club over its head smashing it down around him effectively wiping out several of the small little demons. Stella was standing too close to the troll and was forced several feet away landing on her rear end by the sheer force of the wind.

Her back hit the wall as she watched the troll actively seek out Frodo; it played a cruet game as Frodo hid behind columns. Stella knew that the others were busy trying to save their own skins but she just sat in the corner apparently forgotten as she watched the seen play out before her. She tried to move to help Frodo but soon realised that she must have hit her head pretty hard when she fell into the wall and every time she made the slightest move her head would spin. She watched, helpless, as Frodo was stabbed by a spear and sagged lifelessly against the impaled stick. She cried, attempting to keep her head still. 'Yet another life destroyed, well done Stella!' she thought. She should have been there to help him, sheer stupidity prevented her from helping her friend. She couldn't be bothered to see Legolas take out the giant murderer. It was not until she heard Frodo's voice that she looked up from her lap. He was alive!

Mithril, 'I knew I liked that stuff!' she thanked God silently that her friend had somehow survived. Once it was made clear that Frodo was going to be all right thanks to the amazing mithril shirt he was wearing the group moved over to Stella. Unwilling to appear weak, she attempted to stand up however that ended up with her almost face planting into stone. She held her head, trying to ignore the blazing headache she had. Boromir gently placed a hand on her waist in an attempt to steady her. Stella was too weak to really object to his hand; instead she attempted to make him laugh.

"I thought you had learned from your mistake? I could still take your ass to the floor!" she smiled with a laugh, "You must enjoy constantly getting beaten!" she smirked again, though this time her jokes had to be cut short as she doubled over from the pain in her head.

"In you condition? You would be lucky to harm a fly!" Boromir laughed with her.

The group attempted to walk slowly with Stella leaning between Aragorn and Boromir, however the danger became to great as they realized more of the creatures were coming descending upon them from the ceiling. Stella screamed as she was swooped off of her feet by Aragorn as he carried her away running swiftly with the rest of the group.

Suddenly all of the creatures that were chasing after them disappeared as a light appeared at the far end of the room. 'This can't be good' she silently appraised. Quickly the group took off in the opposite direction, fleeing from the ominous orange light. Stella had her arms wrapped around Aragorn's neck as she looked down at the path they would be taking. Lots and lots of stairs, Stella was about to say something to Aragorn to put her down sure that he would simply kill both of them trying to get her down the stairs.

"I can walk, - " she started but was quickly silenced by the look of disbelief on his face.

She realized he wasn't going to stop being a stupid irrational person so she may was well let it go. She watched with a face of horror on her face as Aragorn descended the stairs at top speed. She looked behind her finally seeing the creature that they were running from. It looked like the devil, it was something only imagined in the deepest pits of hell. Stella couldn't help herself she started praying she whispered in Aragorn's ear as he deftly descended more stairs approaching a bridge.

"_Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen_." She let a single tear run down her face.

This was the end; she whispered any other prayers she could think of into Aragorn's ear, silently thanking her father for all of those years of Sunday school. The group approached the bridge but were halted as the path before it began to crumble. One by one they began jumping across the gaps, Stella braved a look below the path to see what awaited the person that fell. She immediately regretted the action. There was no end to the pit the stood above.

"We are truly in hell, you had better not fall!" Stella weakly joked to Aragorn, she could see the corners of his lips twitch upwards though his eyes understood the serious message Stella's words carried. As they had all made the jump over the missing walkway an arrow shot past Legolas' head, slightly messing up his otherwise perfect hair. This only caused the others to move faster, the fiery monster was gaining on them and arrows came seemingly out of nowhere.

Stella watched as Gandalf stopped in the middle of the bridge shouting at the devil, using his staff to effectively break the bridge causing the devil to fall. He turned to look at the group with a small tired smile on his face when suddenly he is dragged back down by the bullwhip the devil wielded. Stella screamed, clutching Aragorn for dear life. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gandalf whisper something though she could not hear it over her own screams. Things were happening too fast. The group was moving, the sudden choppy movements caused Stella to feel sick and she buried her head into Aragorn's chest.

Suddenly it was bright again. The sky was blue, without a cloud in sight. It seemed impossible that Gandalf could really be gone. Aragorn placed her on a rock, it was the final movement before she could not longer resist. She allowed herself to fall into darkness it was less painful. She was vaguely aware of the others fighting before moving again. Stella didn't want to think about any of that, it hurt her head too much.


	12. Prayers and Confessions

When Stella awoke she found herself lying on the softest cloud she could ever imagine. Letting out a soft groan, she stretched her back. It felt as if she had been sleeping for centuries. It took her a moment to remember what had happened. Stella still hadn't opened her eyes; she desperately hoped that it was all a dream. However after only several moments of thinking this she realized that she was lying to herself, she didn't want this all to be a dream because then she would never have met her friends, she had known them all for only a short time but already she felt as if she was closer to them that she was to anyone back home. But there was real danger here, it seemed as if this world was on the brink of war.

Stella had to suppress a chuckle at that thought. 'Soldiers, I must have a thing for Soldiers! I can so easily trade in one war for another!' Of course this war was much easier for Stella to accept it was made clear in Moria, they were all fighting pure evil, the devil himself made an appearance. The war at home was different, no one was fighting evil, they all fought because the pig-heads in power couldn't deal with a different opinion.

"Brandon" she murmured.

She desperately wished he were here maybe then he could see the issue wasn't fighting; the issue was the reason behind the fighting. As she remembered all of the fights and arguments they had gotten into she couldn't help but think of another name.

"Aragorn" she murmured only a hair louder.

She was so confused by their relationship, she cared for him a lot and she knew that he cared for her and they had kissed a few times, but they had never discussed what it all meant. Were they dating? Was that called something else here? Maybe Aragorn didn't need clarification on that they were but she still did.

As she thought about what type of conversation they needed to have she heard the door open. Stella knew it was time to open her eyes, face the world she was living in.

'Please not home, please not home, please not home' she silently chanted as she opened her eyes. She saw the most beautiful woman Stella had ever seen. She felt her mouth drop and her eyes went wide. The woman's hair was the palest blonde Stella had ever seen, almost as if it were devoid of colour all together, and her ice blue eyes pierced Stella's green ones. Despite the woman's otherworldly beauty Stella still felt as though she was in trouble with her.

"Do not be alarmed, you may call me Galadriel." She spoke softly and a smile graced her lips though it did not quite meet her eyes.

"Stella," She managed to stutter out. "Could you please tell me where I am, and where my friends are? How long was I out? I swear I feel as though I have slept for a century. Last thing I can remember is falling asleep? Oh God, Gandalf! Is he really gone?" she took a large breath and started in again "the last thing I told him was that her was a bully and I insulted his hat! I am such a horrid person. Where is Aragorn? I really need to see him!"

Stella looked at the beautiful woman expectantly. Galadriel looked amused and let out a small laugh.

"Your friends are fine, they are resting. You are currently residing in the forest of Lothlórien. You have been unconscious for nearly five days, and in those five days Aragorn had only left your side once, he will be here shortly. I will leave the story of Gandalf's fall to him. You are not of this world however I can see that you perhaps have found your purpose on this quest."

Stella snorted in an incredibly unladylike fashion.

"Yeah my place, so far I have learned that I can be the biggest burden and make men carry me around places due to my inability to walk a straight line! I'm sorry if that is my place I had better learn how to cook because I am going to make a fabulous trophy wife one day." The sarcasm and bitterness was clear in her voice, she really hated the idea of being so dependent on someone else; it was what her father had drilled into her head since she was thirteen.

Galadriel merely smiled "I believe there is more for you that some mans trophy, you only need to prove that to yourself."

It was then that Aragorn came rushing in.

"My Lady, I heard she had awoken I came as soon as possible." He looked down at Stella.

A smile spread across his face though he hesitated to approach her. Stella smiled though when she saw his hesitation her smile faltered.

"I will allow the two of you a chance to discuss the past." Galadriel gave an encouraging smile to Stella as she apparently floated across the room to the door.

Stella turned to face Aragorn with a smile on her face once again. She opened her arms looking for a hug or some sign that everything was going to be okay. When he did not immediately respond to her gesture her smile disappeared.

"Is something wrong?" she asked "I heard you were with me the entire time I was out, that must not have been very exciting for you. Watching me sleep."

"You weren't sleeping, your whole body shut down, I carried you here and the first words out of your lips were his name." Aragorn looked upset but he refused to break eye contact.

Stella barely suppressed a laugh; instead it came out like a snort.

"Is that what you are so upset about? Yes, I said Brandon's name, I wish that he was here and able to understand why I was so opposed to his actions. I want him to understand honour and duty without senseless violence. Did you leave right after I spoke his name?" Stella already knew the answer, of course he did.

He nodded looking down.

"After five days worrying about you, not sleeping for fear that if I left you would leave this world; and then I hear you say his name." he whispered his blue eyes boring into her own.

"Then you didn't hear what I said next?" She watched him shake his head, "I said your name, it was the name I woke up to, and you were the man I looked for first. Brandon is my past, and I am not willing to forget my past, but you, this world, are my future." She spoke the words with pride.

Aragorn nodded.

"I am sorry I did not stay with you." He spoke so softly Stella almost missed it.

"That's okay, all will be forgiven if you give me a hug!" Stella beamed at him, opening her arms once more.

This time Aragorn embraced her like it was going out of style. When they parted his hand reached for hers and their fingers intertwined.

"Will you tell me about what happened? It is all so blurry. Gandalf? Is he really gone, did the devil truly take him?" She looked at Aragorn with pleading eyes, hoping that he would tell her she was crazy and that the old wizard was waiting outside, instead his gaze was sombre.

Slowly he nodded his head. Stella broke down.

"The last thing I did was insult him, I never had a chance to apologise." Her voice trembled.

"Gandalf would not have wanted you to be upset by words spoken in the heat of the moment. He understood that you cared for him." Aragorn comforted her.

Stella was never one to mourn loss publicly and she wanted a change of subject, though she promised herself that some how she would honour his passing. Aragorn sensed that she did not want to talk about Gandalf's fall and attempted to change the conversation.

"You were whispering something in my ear as we made our way across the bridge of Kazad-dum, what was it? Do you remember?" He questioned.

Stella nodded.

"It is one of the things burnt into my brain, as clear as day. It was a prayer." She stated blankly showing little emotion.

"Of what religion? I have never heard it before?"

"The prayers were Catholic, I went to several years of Sunday school thanks to my father and I may not be the most devout woman ever but I know enough to recite a Hail Mary or two" Her tone had tuned bitter at the memory of Sunday school.

"It seemed appropriate at the time, I never knew I believed in God until I was sure my hour of death was upon me. Even so I have committed so many sins, I doubt I am on the stairway to heaven." Stella commented, "That doesn't mean a small prayer could hurt, I spoke one fore every member of the group. Just in case!" She smiled at him.

"Why?" he questioned, looking truly lost.

"Because you are my friends, I care about all you. And besides prayers are easy to dispense, the true task is to believe in them." She smiled at him that was one thing her father had told her that she didn't resent.

"Are all of the prayers the same? For each one of us?" He asked; he looked so serious.

Stella made a small noise.

"With all of your interest are you sure you aren't going to join the priesthood?" She joked. "Yes, all of my prayers were different for each of you. Would you like to hear yours?"

He nodded.

_"God of power and mercy, maker and love of peace, to know you is to live, and to serve you is to reign. Through the intercession of St. Michael, the archangel, be his protection in battle against all evil. Help him to overcome war and violence and to establish your law of love and justice. Grant this through Christ our Lord." _Stella stared at him as the prayer came to an end.

"It is usually one that is said on the eve of battle, but I thought it seemed appropriate given your status." She looked at him expectantly, as he averted his eyes suddenly becoming very interested in the mounds of pillows she was perched against.

"I will not reign, not for your God or anyone else." He stated, still refusing to meet her eyes.

"It does not make any sense to ignore what lies before you. You would make a good king. I have said this before and I meant it then and now, you are stronger than your past." She smiled at him.

He reluctantly looked up at her.

"Besides as much as Boromir talks about not needing, or wanting, a king you can see how much he respects you. You are needed."

"Thank you, for your kind words." He looked at her with true happiness in his eyes.

"That wasn't me being kind" she smiled moving towards him "this is me being kind."

She pressed her lips to his, he immediately responded by wrapping his hands around her waist gently massaging the muscles he found there. She pressed herself into him securing her to him by entangling her hands in his hair, pressing him closer to her. She slowly released his hair from one of her hands moving it down over his shoulder before bringing it up to place on his chest.

She didn't want the kiss to end but knew if they kept this up they would never end up talking about the important things. Reluctantly she pushed away from him flopping back on the pillows.

"Now, we need to have a little chat. First off what are we doing? And second where is my knapsack?"

Aragorn looked amused but quickly moved away to collect her things when he came back she gratefully took her bag and pulled out her pack of cigarettes along with her lighter. While her habit of smoking had greatly diminished since beginning this trip she still preferred something to do with her hands when she got anxious. Lighting a cigarette, one of her last four, and taking a long drag she looked at Aragorn expectantly.

"I care for you, I believe that you are a fascinating person. You are kind and gentle, fiercely loyal, and above all else hopeful. I appreciate these qualities and I want to know more about you. I can offer you very little but I want to give you the assurance that I will always protect you." He finished.

Stella was close to tears.

"All I wanted to know is if we were dating. You made that sound so beautiful. I will always want you to protect me you are good man. I have nothing to offer you in return, except my heart." Stella whispered almost in awe by her own words.

'I didn't really just say that, oh my goodness that was cheesy. And what if he doesn't feel the same.' She panicked, waiting for an answer.

"I mean, what I mean is, well, I think, you know what lets just forget I said that." She became flustered, she didn't want to take her words back. She meant them with all of her heart but she hated feeling so vulnerable.

"No, no, you can not take it back now. I have already heard it, and I feel we are in the same situation. I love you Stella, I just can not seem to understand how you have found it in your heart to love me too."

Stella smirked.

"I know it was a challenge getting over you smell!" she joked, laughing. "I love you Aragorn because you are a good man."

She smiled as she leaned in to lightly place a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"I used to only ever be happy when I was with Will and Brandon, but now I have found that I can be happy again, I believe I understand now what Galadriel was speaking about, I belong here." She smiled up at him.


	13. Long Overdue Apologies

Although Stella could no longer feel the pain in the back of her head or the burning running down her arm she had grown significantly weaker. She could not walk further than the length of the room she had been given and often needed assistance when attempting to stand up. She was told that it was probably an effect caused by the massive injury to the back of the head as well as her prolonged period of unconsciousness. Stella was quick to agree though she knew there was something else wrong as well. She had been thrown off of her horse many times and suffered through two concussions. After each one she had been left feeling sloth-like but it was never this bad.

Aragorn hardly ever left her side; he served as her human walking stick most of the time. Stella didn't mind his attentiveness, from anyone else it would have been unbearable, she could never imagine allowing anyone to see her so weak. She was even reluctant to see the rest of the fellowship for fear they would think less of her.

"Legolas has been asking to see you, it seems he has grown quite fond of you and is worried that you are worse than I have told him." Aragorn informed her. "Not to mention Pippin and Merry both want you to play a bit of music for them, none of the group believe that music can come from a box." He laughed.

Stella had to laugh as well, she knew it was time to go out an see everyone, she knew it was time to apologise for her behaviour. That didn't mean she was looking forward to it.

"Okay, you have convinced me! Help me go out to see our friends." She stated, attempting to but on her happiest of faces.

Aragorn saw right through the act however he said nothing. He smiled and gave her a soft peck on the cheek before swooping her off of her feet carrying Stella out of the door.

"I could have walked some of the way." Stella groused.

Aragorn laughed shaking his head. As they descended flight after flight of spiralling staircase Stella became dizzy and buried her head in Aragorn's shoulder. She did not move her head until they came to a complete stop when she peeked her head up to see the curious faces of her friends.

She gave a small smile and a wave.

"Hi guys." She stated timidly.

The rest of the fellowship waved back at her as Aragorn placed her on her feet. Legolas was the first to approach her.

"You had me worried." He whispered, so low that the others could not hear him. "I must confess after you told me I remind you of your brother I have taken it upon myself to act in your brothers place." He looked up at her.

Stella was shocked into silence before she launched herself into his arms.

"Thank you, I needed that." She smiled.

The rest of the gang approached her one by one giving her soft hugs and sweet words. Merry and Pippin were the last to come up to her.

"Hello Stella!" Pippin sung happily "you have no idea how pleased we are that you are awake. We were telling the rest of the group about the amazing music you paly and nobody believed us. Would you please play one short little song?" He implored.

Stella tried to look serious but failed as a laugh burst its way through her lips.

"Yes, I will play a short song. Although I fear it will be the last one I can play, this box only works for a limited amount of time and then it is of no use. So one more song and then we drop the matter of the music box entirely." Stella whispered conspiratorially with them.

The trio moved to sit down on the soft ground and Stella pulled out her iPod. She quickly found a song while Merry and Pippin got the group's attention.

"Could you please play a slower song?" Merry asked.

"You have read my mind, Merry, here we go." Stella chuckled joyfully.

Stella had picked out a song that started slow but eventually picked up the pace. Her grin only grew when she saw Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir's face. Boromir looked as if he was about to have a heart attack as he scrambled away from the devise. Gimli sat there intrigued by the words coming out of the box. Legolas had closed his eyes and was gently swaying with the music. As the song cam to an end Stella quickly shut off the iPod and looked at the group. Legolas had opened his eyes and was now sating at Stella in confusion.

"What is a human?" he questioned, looking entirely serious.

"What do you mean? What is a human? What kind of a question is that?" Stella asked not able to contain the laughter in her voice.

"I truly do not know," Legolas looked down, "could you please tell me?"

Stella's mouth dropped.

"What would you call me? I mean I'm not an elf, I'm not a dwarf, so what would you call me?" now it was her turn to be confused.

"You are of the race of man, just like Boromir and Aragorn." Gimli replied

"Well, that's sexist! You better not identify me as that!" Stella harrumphed. "Anyways to answer your question, a human is the same as saying the race of men. Seriously, only a guy would think that's and okay identifier!" she ranted.

The rest of the group chuckled at her anger, which only caused her to become further mad.

"Well it's easy for you lot! Seriously, what do we have here? A Prince, a King, and a Steward? You all were born with silver spoons in your mouths! I, on the other hand, am expected to just have babies and make you sandwiches!" She had easily worked herself into an emotional mess, effectively disproving any point she was trying to make.

"Look I'm sorry," she attempted to fix the situation. "That was wrong to put that all on you three. I have been wanting to apologise to all of you actually for my behaviour lately." She looked at Boromir. "I acted like a child, I am sorry. I wanted to prove myself to all of you and ultimately proved to myself that I really need you and you have all gained a place in my heart." She finished her speech before breaking eye contact with Boromir and looking at the rest of the group.

Boromir stood slowly; as Stella looked closer at the man she saw the gaunt expression his face held and the deep sadness in his eyes, he moved slowly away from the group. Stella threw a look at Aragorn before quickly following off after him. She found him sitting only a small distance away, out of the line of sight from the rest of the group, resting against a tree.

"I'm sorry, for whatever it is that I have done to offend you. I didn't mean to. Sometimes I don't think before I act and my big mouth gets me in a lot of trouble. If you want to talk about it I can be here for you. Just don't touch me, but I think we have already established that one." She joked, attempting to elevate his mood.

He didn't laugh, if anything his colour drained even further.

"Hey, that was a joke! Look you can touch me if you want? I could give you a hug? Or we could hold hands? Or whatever." Her face had turned the same colour as a tomato. "What I mean is, we can be friends. I judged you before I knew you. That was wrong of me, but I want to move past that. Do you think we could do that?" She questioned hopefully.

'There, that sounds a heck of a lot better than you can touch me. Sounding like a freaking pervert when ever I try to make a friend!' She grimaced.

"Why? Why do you want to be my friend? I am not like the others I cannot just accept you. You have broken every rule I ever learned about women." He looked upset and somewhat confused.

Stella took a deep breath.

"Look, I have never followed the rules. Ever. Not when it comes to how I am supposed to be. My father was very interested in rules, so I made a point to break most of them. That doesn't mean that I can't win you over with my charm! In fact maybe it will make it easier for us to get along, you can just see me as one of the guys! Okay here is what we are going to do, I am going to tell you one crazy thing I did in the past and you are going to tell me if that breaks your rules for women." She looked at him excited that she could make a game out of it all.

"And what would that help?" He asked looking slightly annoyed.

"Well the more rules I break the more you will see me as one of the guys rather than some lady, which I can tell you right now I am not." She smirked.

"I will try, but I do not see any hope in the matter."

"Well aren't you a Debby downer! We are going to try this! Okay so when I was thirteen years old I snuck out of the house at four in the morning to see my horse, it was a three-hour journey there and back plus time with Ares. It was dark by the time I got back and my parents had called the police."

"What are the police?" He asked, though his face held a small smile.

"Those are the guys that people call to deal rule breakers." Stella grinned at her description. "So does that break one of your rules?"

"Yes." He whispered with a smile.

"See it's working!" Stella screeched.

Their game continued until Aragorn made his way through the trees. He smiled when he saw that they were not fighting. As Stella moved to head back to her room she turned to Boromir.

"Am I still a Lady?" she asked innocently.

"If a Lady climbs a tree to avoid church, then yes you are still a Lady." He smiled.

Stella burst out laughing, she walked closer to him opening her arms for a hug. When she pulled away she giggled.

"According to my parents the problem wasn't even that I had climbed a tree and broken my arm trying to get down, the problem was that I ruined my brand new dress!" She laughed, "To be fair William climbed the tree too, but he didn't ruin his clothes, or break any bones."

Stella allowed Aragorn to pick her up and swiftly carry her back to her room.

The fellowship spent two weeks in the forest, in which time Stella became stronger and her friendship with Boromir blossomed. She had finally proven to him that she wasn't strange of some sort of abomination, and though she could still see the loss and despair in his eyes it happened with slightly less frequency.

Stella told Aragorn that Boromir seemed less in conflict with himself. Aragorn became silent.

"He has told me that he has no hope for his city." He murmured looking almost guilty.

"I can understand that, I mean back home I never thought there was any hope. When a girl can't walk out of her own home without the fear of robbery, or something worse," Stella had to suppress a shiver, "It makes it pretty hard to have any hope in the world. I know almost nothing about Gondor, but I do know about the evil that lurks in this world and I can understand the loss of hope."

On the day of their departure the fellowship set out on boats and Stella was fiddling with the new cloak she had been given. 'Who makes something that covers your arms!' She silently critiqued the clothing, she much preferred her riding jacket however she was told it was far to lift for the journey ahead. In addition to the cloak Galadriel had also given Stella another gift, a small pendant with a green stone that shown golden in the daylight. Stella cautiously gazed at the pendant curious to its purpose.

"So that you may remember your past and look forward to your future." She had stated.

As Stella looked more clearly at the stunning jewellery she saw the gem placed in the centre, it was a perfect circle.

"Nothing is truly linear is it?" Stella had asked knowingly.

It was a game she used to play with her father. A drawing created entirely of circles. Each player would draw a circle on a single sheet of paper working on opposite ends, steadily working their way to the centre by the end of the game it was impossible to tell who's circle was who's.

"Nothing is ever linear Stella, you must know this, one action will always effect another regardless how far apart the actions may appear." He would say.

At the time Stella simply thought he was trying to take away from the fun though now she was not so sure.


	14. Prelude to Death

Stella's arms ached, worse than the time she churned butter at that historical recreation. She winced, as she saw no end to the perpetual river. Boromir noticed with a small smile.

"Would you like me to do that for you?" he called from the back of the small boat they were sharing.

Stella looked back at him, noticing his smirk.

"No, thank you I am just fine on my own." She muttered.

"It is alright to admit that you do not have the stamina of a man. A lady is naturally weaker than a man." He stated, goading her into anger.

"If I were a lady I would gladly let you paddle this seemingly senseless river, however as the world turns I am not a lady. If you don't just shut your mouth about it all I am going to come back there and show you how unladylike I can be!" She threatened.

Boromir had learned too much about her to fear her threats and even if he hadn't he would never show his fear. Instead he laughed at her anger and was joined by the snickers of the rest of the company.

"That better not be your laugh I hear, Aragorn, last I checked you liked that I was rather unruly." Stella quipped, effectively ceasing Aragorn's laughter.

Stella continued to paddle the boat though her cloak, which she insisted to call a cape, was quickly discarded along with any other unnecessary articles of clothing.

''Eight hours!" Stella exclaimed as she hopped off of the boat immediately flopping onto the riverbank they had stopped at.

"What's that?" Merry questioned innocently.

"Oh, that's how long I estimate we were on that stupid river. Too damn long to not be using our legs. I mean I did it, with a fair bit less complaining then some," She shouted with a smirk over at Gimli. "But I am so sick of doing nothing but stare at water."

"A lady does not curse." Boromir deadpanned.

Stella fought the urge to stick her tongue out like a petulant child, preferring rather to make a rude gesture in his direction.

"You sound like my mother, or worse my father." Stella spat with little venom.

"Someone light a fire, I agree with the lass. You have got a good head on your shoulders!" Gimli commented before collapsing against a rock.

Stella moved over to the small mound of wood Aragorn had already collected and arranged. 'He just keeps going, like the damn energizer bunny.' Stella observed as she saw Aragorn moving to help Pippin with some mess he had gotten into with some rope. She idly thought about what that would mean for their relationship. Stella blushed as she realized her train of thought, she met Aragorn's eye and quickly moved to start the fire pulling out her small green lighter.

Once the fire had reached a healthy glow Stella made herself comfortable, picking a secure resting spot between Aragorn and Legolas. They made her feel safe, Aragorn had profusely stated that he would always protect her and Legolas had saved her in Moria. She was thankful for both of them and hoped her closeness to them while she slept would prove that to them.

She knew they would never truly know the significance of her proximity because she could never describe her true fear of most men that had plagued her since that fateful night. She leaned slowly into Aragorn as he came to sit next to her. Legolas handed both of them a small amount of lembas bread. Aragorn looked at the piece of bread he looked excited by the meal and bit into the bread. Stella observed the piece in her hand. Legolas noted her confusion.

"It is waybread, he explained it is good. A small amount is enough to fill the stomach. It is sweet and heavenly." He smiled as she snickered at his description.

"You sound absolutely smitten, you know I had a friend who talked about her girlfriend in the same way, like she was food. I always thought that was a bit creepy." She laughed until she noticed the shocked looks on her friend's faces. "What? What did I say now?" she panicked, fearing she had insulted their food.

"Your friend, was a woman?" Boromir asked slowly.

"Yes, Kat, well actually her name was Katrina but nobody ever called her that. Sometimes I called her Kitty Kat, she hated that."

"And she was romantically involved with a woman?" Aragorn looked confused.

"Yes," Stella barely suppressed her anger, "and they were the kindest, most sweetest couple I have ever seen so whatever you are going to say remember that she is my friend and if you insult her I will not hesitate to kick your ass."

"It is only that I have never heard of such a relationship." Boromir stated calmly attempting to defuse some of the tension.

"Well now you have, they are great people. Just because they aren't interested in your sex doesn't make them any less that anyone else." Stella grumbled trying not to blow her lid.

She remembered all of the times that people had insulted her friends, how Stella's own father had forbade Kat from the house. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I never said anything against them, I was simply shocked by the statement." Boromir argued.

Aragorn wrapped his arm over her shoulder bringing her closer into his side.

"It is okay Stella, no one is going to insult your friends." He comforted her, rubbing slow circles on her shoulder.

Stella calmed almost instantly under his touch.

"I know I'm sorry I get really defensive about that. Some people in my world are so cruel to Kat. My own father banned her from the house when he found out. She was one of my closest friends." Stella sighed wondering when she would get over the idea that these worlds could be so different.

"Why?" Gimli asked, looking at the sad girl with a similar expression.

"Tradition." Stella mimicked her father's snobbish tone. "He kept saying that it was a sin against God." Stella snorted, "If only he knew! I was never the angel he envisioned I was."

"I am afraid I am lost." Merry piped in.

He had only started listening when he noticed Stella was in a fair amount of distress and wanted to make sure that he could somehow come to her rescue if need be.

Stella smiled.

"Well there are some people back home that hold a lot of silly prejudices towards a lot of people and almost none of them make any sense." Stella explained. "There are people in my world that would hate Legolas simply because he is of another race, or Gimli because he is short, or Aragorn because he doesn't have a job and travels. Though they would have another name for all of it, that's about the sum of it."

"It sounds like you come from a hard place to live." Sam interjected.

Stella looked at him a bit shocked that he had said much of anything. It had become clear in the passing days that he and Frodo preferred to stay by themselves.

"Yes, whole wars have been fought because someone disliked a group."

She didn't really want to go there, she didn't want to talk about genocide. This world was already too sad to introduce that topic. She bit into the bread that still rested in her hand and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as the flavours assaulted her mouth.

"Legolas, this is much better than I assumed. I can now understand your adoring talk." Stella commented earning small chuckles from the group.

The night progressed and though the sun had long set behind the trees the moon provided a strong light making it easy to see. Stella still perched herself near Aragorn wide-awake. She thought she was the only one until she heard Aragorn shift and his breathing change.

"Hello." She whispered into his ear.

She was so close she could almost feel rather than see the smile that graced his face.

"Hello to you, why aren't you sleeping?" he responded.

Stella smirked, not wanting to tell him the real reason.

"Who could sleep when you are awake?" she answered.

She heard his quiet laugh and felt his chest move.

"You will be tired tomorrow." He stated

"So will you."

She slowly pressed her body to his, closing any gaps that might have been there. Her face rested on his shoulder before she slowly lifted her head placing a soft kiss on his cheek. She slowly moved kissing along a line to his mouth. She paused just before she placed a kiss on his mouth. They were so close, only centimetres separated their lips, there noses rubbed against each other softly.

"I love you." Stella whispered.

"I lo -" he started but was quickly cut off as Stella pressed her lips to his with such insistency.

She was smirking when they finally broke apart.

"You were saying?"

"I love you." He murmured into her cheek as he continued to press light kisses on her skin.

"Come on. I want to talk to you away from any light sleepers." She grinned gesturing over at Legolas. "He has been taking this whole brother thing so seriously. I love it, he is just like William some times."

Aragorn laughed

"You know he isn't asleep? Right?"

"What? Of course he is, nobody can keep that still." Stella argued.

She stopped as Legolas' figure started to move.

"He's right, I'm not asleep. But I thought it would be best if I acted that way to give you two some privacy." He grinned sheepishly. "So do I make a good brother?"

"Well you did till I realised you were listening to a private conversation." Stella murmured, turning the colour of a beetroot.

Laughing Aragorn rose to his feet pulling Stella along with him.

"Well let's get away from prying ears." He joked still grinning at Legolas.

"Fine, I still really do want to talk to you." Stella grumbled.

They walked only a small distance away before Aragorn spun around to face her moving so that they were close again.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" He voice was smooth as he whispered tucking his head into the crook of her neck placing small kisses there.

"I wanted to tell you something serious, will you kindly remove your head from my neck?" She asked with a laugh.

He head popped up with a goofy grin slapped across his face.

"Only because you asked so nicely." He responded before sitting down gracefully against a tree. Stella joined him looking happy though lost in a certain amount of thought.

"I wanted to tell you about William and Brandon. I wouldn't bring it up, but I can tell from all of your talk with the others this world is so close to war. I just wanted you to understand my response to the whole thing, because I love you and I want to support you but I have had these experiences and I can't just forget them." She looked into his eyes.

"Stella," he trailed off, looking sad.

"So I told you my world was in the middle of a war, and that William joined the army out of duty, and Brandon followed four years later. I loved both of them and in a way I lost both of them." She took a big breath. "William joined right in the thick of it. But I suppose he was smart about it, he decided to get extra training become a ranger but there was no getting out if fighting, and he wouldn't want to. So he went to fight. My mother got the news six months later; William was on some mission and was missing. The official term is Missing In Action." Her hands were shaking as she grabbed onto Aragorn's hand. "It's almost worse than knowing he was dead, with the dead at least you can mourn them. There is a place for the dead; there is no place for the missing. And then Brandon, his body came back but his mind was lost in the shooting, the violence. I love you, I want you to be safe, I can understand that you will need to fight but I need you to understand that I can't watch another person I love be torn from me." She looked up at him. "And I'll be honest, I thought if you would accept being king than maybe for some reason you would be more safe, though I suppose that is just wishful thinking on my part." She grinned.

"Amazing, you can live through so much and still love." He whispered in awe.

Stella rolled her eyes.

"Aragorn stop it right now! I am not going to tolerate this anymore. I let it drop the first few times but I want to make something incredibly clear to you. It is no great stretch to love you, quit acting like it is." Fire danced behind Stella's eye, she had very little patients for his behaviour.

"So if I start acting strange, just know that it is because I fear loosing you. Kapeesh?" She asked with a smirk.

"Kapeesh?" Aragorn looked lost.

"It means understand, do you?"

"Yes, I understand, and I love you for it."

"Good now if I remember correctly you were doing something to my neck, and I would very much appreciate if you went back to that." Stella laughed, exposing her neck to him.

Aragorn joined her peals of laughter with his own rumbling laugh. Stella smiled, happy that she and Aragorn were so happy and peaceful.


	15. Loss of a Warrior

Stella woke the next morning tucked under Aragorn's arm. She smiled as she attempted to extricate herself without waking him up. 'Even the energizer bunny needs a break' she thought with a giggle. She was surprised that she had woken before him; usually they woke within seconds of each other though this morning he seemed deeply entrenched in his dreams. She managed to wiggle out of his firm grasp on her hip steadfastly ignoring Boromir's snickers.

"You could help, you know? That would be the gentlemanly thing to do." Stella scowled.

"Yes, perhaps, though a lady would never find herself in that rather uncomfortable position." He retorted without missing a beat.

"Ah, there's the problem! I never pretended to be a lady, you on the other hand, Steward of Gondor, how many times have you told me that you are a gentleman?" She questioned "And I will have you know that there was absolutely nothing uncomfortable about that position." She smirked at him enjoying the light blush that had painted his cheeks.

He frequently became shy when she brought up her more romantic feelings about Aragorn; Stella assumed it was because he lived in puritanical times. Though Legolas had explained to her one particularly hilarious night, when Boromir had actually stomped away from the group due to Stella's teasing, that Boromir already saw Aragorn as his King and talking about anything remotely sexual was taboo. Stella had burst out laughing.

"Are you kidding me?" She had asked once her face had returned to its usual colour.

After assuring her that he was not pulling her leg she couldn't help but place herself in purposely compromising situations only to watch Boromir's blood boil.

The group moved about getting ready to have another long day on the boats, much to Stella and Gimli's dissatisfaction. After shaking Aragorn's shoulder for two minutes without success Stella attempted another method to waking the sleeping man. She slowly inched her face down to hover just above his ear while her hands found their way under his shirt.

"Aragorn," She whispered. "Wake up, come on sunshine, wake up." A small smile came across her face at the last world as her hands landed on his chest tickling the hard flesh she found there.

Aragorn awoke with a start, jolting up and grabbing Stella's hands. The movement startled Stella causing her to lose her balance and fall, landing on his legs.

"Well at least you are up now, just imagine if I was something worse than an annoying girlfriend! What would you have done then?" She joked, barely realizing that he hadn't released her hands.

"You should not sneak up on a man while he is sleeping." Aragorn grumbled though his eyes held little animosity; it seemed rather that he was worried that he would have done something worse.

"The lass hardly snuck up on you! We all tried to wake you, she was the only one that actually got anywhere." Gimli stated in a mater-of-fact tone.

Aragorn glared at the dwarf, Stella noticed the bags under his eyes and the sadness that lingered there. She briefly wondered what his dream was about. Though that thought was quickly forgotten as Boromir walked back to the group.

His eyes evaluated the situation and Stella could see the beginnings of a blush appear on his face. She could hardly blame him for thinking the worst of the situation, her hands were still locked in his under his shirt and she was sitting with their legs entangled. Stella smirked.

"If you would be so kind as to give me my hands back, Aragorn," She winked at Aragorn, "though if you are so insistent that I not move I suppose you could always tie my hands and have your wicked way with me." She stated in her most flirtatious voice.

Aragorn looked puzzled by this sudden change in Stella's behaviour, this was the first time that she had ever been so forward and quite crass.

"I assure you that was not my intention." Aragorn mumbled as he attempted to gain her eye contact. She was too busy enjoying the bright red colour that Boromir had turned. She did not hear Aragorn's quiet, needless, apologies. She turned around to face him again when she realized her hands had been released and smiled at him before placing a wet kiss on his cheek.

"Look at our dear friend, Boromir, I do believe we have embarrassed him." She whispered in his ear.

Aragorn looked over and indeed saw Boromir's deep flush. Aragorn chuckled.

"But why?" he questioned staring again into Stella's eyes.

He did not know much about Boromir, though he highly doubted that at his age he was unfamiliar in these matters.

"Later, when prying eyes are not so near." Stella responded with a wink.

She liked making Boromir blush, though she had no real intention of spilling his secret to the rest of the group.

The morning past all too fast and soon they were all on the boats again though this time Stella was mercifully not paddling, she had made a pretty decent argument when she had woken up that morning to find that she could not lift her arms above her head. This time she was steering the boat, and while it required a bit more skill the actual amount of work was shockingly less than yesterday.

They moved across the river slowing only briefly when they passed between two rocks. Everyone looked up impressed by the rocks. At first Stella believed that they were only impressed by the size of the rock, until she looked up and saw faces carved into the stone. Stella's mouth dropped open.

"Well that's a damn sight more impressive than Mount Rushmore." Stella gasped.

Though the statues were impressive, they were clearly old and Stella feared for the small boats and their passengers as they passed under them. They soon passed the statues and Stella could breathe again.

It was still light out when Aragorn motioned for the boats to stop. They came to a resting place against the shore and tied the boats up preparing to make camp for the evening.

"We should not rest here." Legolas commented.

This small and seemingly innocent comment sparked a fire in Aragorn's eyes as he argued with the elf. It certainly did not help matters when Gimli decided to pipe up about how hopeless the road ahead of them was. Aragorn finally snapped back.

"That is our road, I suggest you rest and recover your strength." He commented in a voice that held so much finality no one dared respond.

It was not until Aragorn motioned for Stella to follow him that the rest made any movement.

"I want to show you Hollin," he stated.

Stella was confused; they had travelled for almost two months in the opposite direction of her school. Besides the fact that Stella was pretty confident that she wasn't even in the same world, she was sure Aragorn had come to the same conclusion ages ago. They walked further away from the group until they made it to a clearing that held only ruins of what Stella was sure to have been a beautiful city.

"This may have once been a place of amazing wonders though it looks as if it has been abandoned." Stella commented, "Why show me this place? It may hold near the same name as what I was looking for but I can assure you this is not the same. I am a great deal further from home than you have realized." She looked into his sad eyes.

"I told you all of the different parts of my home, and I have seen the horrors of your own. The only somewhat logical conclusion I have made is that I am most certainly not in Kansas anymore." She gave him a weary smile. "I'm sorry I thought you had come to the same decision I had."

"I had my suspicions, everything about you seems of another time and awareness. I simply held some hope that this would lead you home to your family and friends."

"I have found friends, better friends than I could have imagined, in this group. And as for family, well I think Legolas and Boromir have my mother, father, and brother covered." She smiled at him. "And you, I'm not sure where you fit into my life yet. I never had a king back home." She grinned. "Perhaps you could be, my Louis XV and I could be your Madame Du Berry, official mistress to the king!"

She giggled at his expression. "Or perhaps you would be my Henry VIII, and I could be your Anne Boleyn. Though I fear what that would mean for my neck!" another peal of laughter erupted from her.

"Or you could be neither, I would not want you as a mistress, and I can assure you your neck is safe. Perhaps I would want you forever by my side," he took a lough gulp of air "perhaps I would want you as my wife." He looked up at her.

She could see the hope in his eyes mixed in amongst the sadness.

"What are you saying Aragorn? What are you asking? I need to hear you say it before I make a fool of myself and say something dumb." She whispered.

"Stella, will you mar-" He was never given a chance to finish the sentence before a loud noise erupted from the trees.

Aragorn jumped slightly before he sprang into action grabbing Stella's hand and running towards the sound of the horn. The sight that assaulted Stella's eyes almost made her fall to her knees. Legolas and Gimli had also responded to the sound of the horn and they were each battling several creatures. The best way Stella could describe the creatures that encircled the group, clearly out numbering them, was men. Though there was something horribly wrong with their faces almost as if there was to much bone covered by too little flesh, all of the men were marked by a white hand that held such a look of horror against their dirt covered patchwork skin.

Stella took a large breath surveying the scene panic over washing her. As Aragorn looked at each member of the group and he noticed with slight horror that Frodo was missing from the fray. Sam stood by both Merry and Pippin battling two of the ferocious creatures while Boromir protectively stood defending them. Legolas was several feet away slicing down the creatures as they approached.

It was out of the corner of Aragorn's eye that he saw a particularly large beast preparing to attack Stella. He moved to protect her from the harm of the monster but Stella had noticed as well and had already moved into a defensive crouch with her blades drawn. Once she had gotten past the sheer ugly-ness of the beasts she could deal with them as men, disgusting, smelly, huge men.

She waited for the beast to make the first attack, which she quickly sidestepped, before running her dagger through the beast's thick neck. She could not have mentally prepared herself for the ooze of black that seeped from the fatal wound. In a way it made it easier for her to kill them once she had justified to herself that these creatures were poison, even their blood. She turned to look at Aragorn, who looked conflicted.

"Go find Frodo, he is important. Clearly I can take care of myself." She laughed at her last words.

He nodded briskly before turning to Boromir. As Aragorn, followed by Sam, ran off in the direction Boromir indicated another of the creatures approached Stella.

She was just about to land a fatal blow to the beast before she heard a yell behind her distracting her from the task at hand. She turned to see the source of the call and felt a sharp pain radiating from her side; this drew her attention back to the beast in front of her before stabbing him in the chest. She looked down at her side and saw a shocking amount of crimson seeping through the shirt she wore. Pressing a hand to the injury she turned seeing Boromir with several arrows pointing out of his chest and the screams of Merry and Pippin rang in her ears as she watched them being carried away.

Stella fell to her knees slowly crawling towards Boromir. She knew Legolas and Gimli had seen what had happened and would deal with the surrounding beast. She had to get to Boromir even if it was the last thing she did.

"Boromir, no." she whimpered. "Please, you are so strong. You are going to be alright, please." She didn't even know what she was asking for at this point she was distraught. "I love you, you can't, not yet. Just wait a little longer. Aragorn will know what to do, he can make this better." She didn't know if that were true but she needed him to hold on just a little longer.

His face had lost its colour as he opened his mouth to say something.

"The ring, I made him put on the ring, tell him I am sorry."

"No, no, it's okay, you are going to be okay. I promise, just wait a little longer" She was near tears. "No, no, no you can make it just look at me, look!" She yelled.

She felt someone at her side but could not be bothered enough to look at them, her attention was solely focused on Boromir. She entwined her hand with his.

"Save him! Please! He doesn't deserve to die. Please! Do something!" She was openly weeping.

She felt someone gently try to move her away from him.

"No! Work around me if you need to, but I won't leave him. No! Boromir No!" She cried as someone ripped her from him.

She looked up to see Legolas holding her back as Aragorn kneeled by the man they were whispering. It was not until Stella saw Aragorn run his hand over Boromir's eyes. She knew then that he was dead.

"No, No!" she yelled so loudly that she startled Legolas and he loosened his grip on her waist.

She flung herself at Boromir clutching to his chest. She had known him for so little time and yet he had become such a good friend. He could not be gone.

"No please!" she wept.

She could tell that he was truly dead, their was no saving the man she had come to love as a father in a way that she could never love her own. She forced herself to sit up knowing that she had to mourn his death in some way.

_"Lord our God, You are always faithful and quick to show mercy. Boromir was violently taken from us. Come swiftly to his aid, have mercy on him, and comfort his family and friends by the power and protection of the cross. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen." _She whispered before crossing herself.

She knew it was not enough, that it would never be enough. In the time she had spent with Boromir she had learned that he was a religious man, while it might not have been his religion she felt that he would have appreciated her whispered prayer. Stella sat limply as she allowed Legolas and Aragorn to pick up Boromir's body; they walked back to the place that they had left the boats.

Stella noticed that one of the boats was gone and that both Frodo and Sam were absent from the group. She could not bring herself to question their absence her heart was already so heavy.

Instead she sat there watching as the group decided to give Boromir a respectful funeral. They placed him in a boat with his shield and sword. They laid his body down so gently, if Stella had not known she would have thought he was simply sleeping. She allowed more tears to spill over as she watched her friend sail away, carried by the current.

She vaguely heard Legolas ask about Frodo. In her heart she already knew, Frodo had left. She knew it the moment Boromir had whispered his words about the ring. She knew that this was the end. It gave her slight hope for the future knowing that Sam and Frodo had gone to destroy the ring that had destroyed Boromir.

"We have failed, the fellowship has failed!" Gimli exclaimed.

Stella was quick to agree but held her tongue, knowing that Aragorn had to have other plans for them. She listened to him as he rallied the elf and dwarf to save Merry and Pippin. Stella had already promised that she would follow him anywhere and at this point could not stand to loose another one of her friends.

She nodded and got to her feet. It was then that she remembered the stab wound at her side. She lifted her shirt gently gasping when she saw the nasty gash that spanned from the top of her rib cage to her hip. The sound gained Aragorn's attention as he looked at Stella. She swayed dangerously, her balance severely affected due to the suddenness of her action and blood loss. Aragorn was quickly at her side helping her lie down on the hard ground.

"I'm fine! Just wrap it up and I can keep going we have to get to Merry and Pippin. Look," She attempted to stand again but was quickly pushed down by Aragorn. "Stop that! Let me stand up and I can show you how I am going to make it better. Hold my hand." She pushed herself up.

She carefully peeled off the shirt she was wearing, that clung to her soaked with blood. She motioned for Legolas and Gimli to turn around as she stripped of her boots and pants. She made her way, with Aragorn's help, to the water. She gently lowered herself into the ice-cold water, letting the quick current wash away the blood and dirt that the wound had accumulated. Aragorn's hands served as an anchor to the shore, preventing her from drifting away. She stayed there for ten minutes letting the wound clean itself of any toxins. Once she knew that the slice was clean she got up before gesturing over to her seldom-used cape. Aragorn handed it to her as she looked at the thing with disgust.

She ripped a wide section from it before Aragorn could protest. She held up her hand.

"Honestly, it's just like MASH." She laughed, dryly almost disgusted that she could be making jokes so soon after death.

'I suppose that is just what war does to people' she mused silently. She wrapped the makeshift bandage around her side tightly before tying it off. It staunched the blood and eased the pain so that she could walk and even run without too much assistance. She was grateful that it was a shallow cut and missed anything truly important.

"Okay, I'm fine see. Lets go. I can't lose anymore. Please." She begged.

Aragorn studied the wrappings before nodding his head. Stella redressed thankful for Aragorn's loose shirt that did not touch her side.

She said a final silent goodbye to Boromir before turning her back on the river and the sorrow it held for her. It was with that final thought that the remainder of the fellowship ran after the monsters that had captured their friends.


	16. Riding Again

Stella hurt, her whole body felt as if it had been set alight. They had run nonstop for a day and a half. Aragorn and Legolas had taken the front while Stella and Gimli had found a more reasonable pace about five metres behind them. There finally came a point when Stella's body would not push itself any further.

She had exerted all of the strength she could find and still it was not enough, not enough to save her friends, not enough to save Boromir. Rather than sit down her body collapsed, she barely managed to flop herself over to avoid breaking her nose. She breathing was loud and ragged and her hands trembled.

She knew that she should call out to her friends and at least tell them that she was dying. And that was what it felt like, as if her body was slowly dying, the gash on her side throbbed as if it had a pulse of its own. Suddenly she felt warm hands caress her face and her head being pulled into someone's lap. Something was pressed to her lips and warm water trickled down her chin.

The water was helpful but it was not what her body truly needed. She attempted to mover her arm and untie the bandage at her side. Someone saw what she was attempting to do and came to her side helping lift her shirt and release the bandage.

There was a soft intake of breath and a muttering of words that Stella could not understand.

"What? What's wrong?" she asked franticly.

Her eyes were glued shut in pain.

"Stella, open your eyes please." Aragorn's voice pleaded.

She so wanted to do what he asked of her but she found that her eyelids were suddenly heavier than a tonne of bricks.

"I can't, I am so tired. Aragorn please let me sleep." She begged.

She was making little sense and she just wanted to rest. She had a feeling that if she could rest her eyes for only a moment everything would be better. Her side was already feeling better thanks to her lack of movement.

She was suddenly yanked onto her uninjured side and she could feel something being wrapped around her again. There was a slight pause and Aragorn's name being called.

There was a soft conversation that Stella would have strained to listen to if she was not suddenly so preoccupied with sleep. Everything began to feel soft, as if she were floating on a cloud.

When she awoke again they were in the same place. 'At least I didn't make someone carry me.' She thought. It made her laugh and gained the attention of the three men.

Aragorn was quickly at her side.

"How do you feel? You look better." He told her.

"Better, yes I am all better. I am sorry I slowed us all down. My body it just, it wouldn't go any farther." She responded, trying hard to keep the shakiness out of her voice.

"It is alright, you are strong. We, I, pushed you too hard." He looked guilty. "However you are the reason we know we are on the right path. Look." He showed her a small metal leaf, she recognized it as the same leaf she had on her own cape before she ripped it to shreds. But this one was different; this one was flattened and muddy.

"What am I missing?" she asked.

While the leaf was curious it certainly was no indication to Stella that they were on the right path.

"Legolas found this underneath you when changing your bandage. It is not any of ours. These clasps are sturdy they would not just fall of a cloak. Someone is leaving a trail for us." He looked excited as he explained this.

"Great, so now thanks to me we know that we are headed in the right direction but we are also a day behind them because I can't do anything without hurting myself." She complained.

Her whines were unnecessary and sounded pathetic even to her, but she could not stop herself.

"Can we go now? There is still daylight left, and Merry and Pippin they are all alone. Probably scared out of their minds, and as tired and hungry as we are." Stella pleaded.

She did not know how long her bout of energy was going to last and she would be damned if she spent it sitting around the campfire singing kumbaya. Aragorn seemed to understand Stella's argument and nodded his head.

"But you must tell someone the minute you do not feel well." He made her promise.

The group moved forward again this time Stella had the energy to keep up with Gimli without feeling weak. They continued on for several hours before crossing over a ledge and heading downhill. When they got to the bottom there was suddenly a rush of motion and horses surrounded them.

"You have got to be joking me!" Stella fumed.

She normally would have been in awe of the horses, but now she could only see them as a distraction and a hindrance.

"These are riders of Rohan, Stella, horse masters in their own rite. It would perhaps be best if you show them respect." Aragorn whispered in her ear.

Stella grumbled something unintelligible to the rest of the group and looked down at her feet. Aragon started a conversation with one of the men, who introduced himself as Eomer. The conversation was brief and did not seem to be headed in a good direction when Gimli spoke up.

A sword was placed at his neck and Stella saw red. She moved in front of the dwarf effectively protecting him from pointy objects.

"Just who do you think you are? Threatening my friend. You have a lot of nerve. Besides it is rude manners to stay on your horse when addressing someone. Though I suppose you forgot proper manners the same time you forgot to bathe. Pity really." She glowered at him.

Eomer barked a laugh in response. He slowly dismounted his horse though the rest of the riders stayed firmly atop the animals.

"What is this?" he laughed again. "A woman traveling amongst a man, elf, and dwarf. I can only imagine your purpose." His eyes greedily took in her form.

"Oh yes. I wasn't born with the proper parts and must therefore be either whore or wife." She responded snidely, "Well I can tell you now I am not married." She stepped closer to him.

She could almost feel the anger rolling off Aragorn in waves. He was certain that she was playing some sort of game with Eomer but he could not prevent every fibre of his being telling him to protect and defend her. Legolas must have sensed Aragorn's mood to the whole thing and gently, but firmly, placed a hand on his friend's upper arm.

"Would you like to see exactly why they let me tag along on their little journey?" Stella asked quietly, looking the man straight in the eye.

He nodded his assent and Stella grinned wickedly. With a burst of strength, that Stella was unaware she possessed; she punched Eomer in the jaw. The man staggered back but before he could reorient himself Stella landed another blow to his gut. She was panting and her side was on fire but the bloody nosed man that was now clutching his stomach gave her much needed satisfaction.

"They 'allowed' me to join them because I am loyal to my friends. Now I have two friends that ate in great danger from these malformed beasts and I want them back." She yelled at him, refusing to show that she was in pain. "And because I pack a punch." She added before turning back to her friends.

She saw Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli standing there with their arms raised about their heads. Spears surrounded them and Stella gasped at her stupidity. She often regretted hurting someone but not usually so soon after. 'How could I think his friends would let me do that and be okay with it?' she groaned.

"Stella, remember how I said be respectful?" Aragorn glowered at her; it was only after looking in his eye that she saw the glimmer of humour.

'Sorry' she mouthed with a shrug before turning back to Eomer.

"I am sorry, I just want to see my friends. I promise I wont hurt you anymore." She couldn't help the last part of her apology.

He grumbled but eventually gave some sort of silent motion to the men and the spears were thankfully taken out of her friend's faces. Eomer turned to look at Aragorn. Stella took it as the silent way to tell her she had been dismissed.

"Malformed beasts?" he repeated looking for some sort of clarification.

"Orc, a pack of them, bearing the white hand of Saruman. We are looking for two hobbits." Aragorn answered.

Eomer nodded in understanding.

"We came across an orc pack last night, we killed and burned what we found. There were no hobbits. We left no survivors." The response was cold and unemotional.

Stella felt as if the world had turned upside-down and she was unable to find a foothold. She almost ran into Aragorn's side clinging to him for dear life.

"Where?" Aragorn questioned.

It was with that one word that Stella could understand his royal lineage. He was born to command armies like this. Eomer pointed in the direction they had come.

"Take these horses. May you find better luck than their riders did."

Three horses were brought in front of them and Stella was instantly drawn to them. 'Finally something I can deal with.' She thought with relief. The men continued their conversation while Stella inspected the horses.

One was black with a white speckling running down his nose. He so reminded her of Ares that she knew from that instant she could never let him go. As she fawned over the horses the men stopped talking to look at her.

"She seems at home with the horse." Eomer commented. He smiled "She has a fight in her, reminds me of my sister." His voice became nostalgic.

"Yes, she is a wonder." Came Aragorn's reply after a few minutes.

The men nodded at each other in parting before the riders of Rohan rode away in the opposite direction.

"A dwarf does not ride a horse!" Gimli exclaimed

Stella laughed.

"Come on, they are so sweet look at this one." She gestured to one of the horses. "They aren't going to hurt you."

Aragorn walked over to Stella.

"Are you sure you can ride?" he asked looking quickly to her side.

"Like you could stop me!" She grinned.

Aragorn moved to hold her leg while she raised herself onto the horse. Stella scoffed. She may be injured but she had been ridding horses since she was five years old. She would be damned if she allowed a boost. She gave Aragorn a slight push.

"Go help a lady." She joked looking over at Gimli, who proved too short to clamber onto the horse.

She hooked one foot into the stirrup and hoisted herself into the saddle moving slightly to find a comfortable position for her cut. Stella smiled as she got used to being on a horse again. She caught Aragorn's stare and chuckled.

"He reminds me of Ares. I love him already." She stated absently patting the horse.

"That is a curious name for a horse. Don't you think?" Legolas asked throwing her a look.

Stella nodded.

"I suppose, back home there are stories about a 'God of War', his name in the native language was Ares. It just sort of made sense to name my horse after the reason I lost loved ones. My own personal f-you to the Roman gods." She laughed dryly. "Makes sense that I would find another Ares now, some sort of a sign I suppose."

Aragorn looked at her sadly and with a hint of what Stella thought was guilt.

"Hey don't be too sad it is not the end of the world yet. God has only sent one horseman. Be on the lookout for Conquest, Famine, and Death. As for War, well we know right where he is!" this time she truly did laugh.

It was not every day that she was able to use her knowledge of the bible to make jokes, even ones that present company did not understand.

'When we find Merry and Pippin, then I will explain my dark humour.' She thought before nudging her new Ares forward effectively ending conversation.


	17. Return of the Lost

The first thing that Stella noticed as they came to a stop was the sickening smell of burning flesh. It was enough to make her want to turn back around and follow to wherever Eomer was headed, for alt least then it would be away from this sickening smell. Despite her gut instinct telling her to bolt she took a large gulp of air through her mouth and slowly dismounted Ares II, as she had named him.

"I understand the hatred for these beasts, Orc's you called them? But burning one's enemy that seems like overkill. And this one it was already dead, was there really a need to skewer its head?" Stella asked attempting to cover her nausea with senseless babble so far it wasn't working.

"There is much more than simple hatred between Orc and Rohan. It would be wise to withhold judgement." Legolas reasoned, earning a sharp glare from Stella.

"It's just burning, it's so crude and barbaric. Not to mention the smell."

It was with those final words that Stella became violently ill, only just managing to duck behind some rocks. As she made her way back to the group Aragorn looked at her captiously. He held out a flask of water that she greatly accepted.

"The smell," She justified. "I just have never experienced something so foul. And that includes the time my brother stuck his used tube socks in my face." She grimaced at the memory. "What I would give for the smell of his ripe socks now." She commented.

The three dug through the pile of bodies inspecting each one for signs of Merry of Pippin. After what felt like hours Gimli held up a small amount of chard leather.

"It is one of their wee belts." He whispered in disbelief.

It seemed that they had all been working under the assumption that somehow Merry and Pippin had gotten away. Finding one of their belts only confirmed that they were dead. Stella crumbled to the ground unwilling to acknowledge their deaths. She heard Legolas whisper something in another language; she could understand enough from the tone that it was a goodbye.

Stella tried to think of a way to say goodbye to her friends but came up short. Her other losses had been less of a challenge. Gandalf fell before her; she saw Boromir come to his end, and even the loss of Frodo and Sam was explained to her. This, this senseless murder of her best friends it was impossible for Stella to comprehend.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Aragorn let out a scream as he fell to his knees. He was muttering to himself and Stella could only pick up fragments and odd words. She heard enough to understand that he was blaming himself for everything. She slowly picked herself up and walked over to him.

"Aragorn," She whispered as she knelt next to him. "Aragorn, please look at me, this is not your fault. I know you are blaming yourself and I know this is sad but please, Sweetheart, understand that this is not your fault. If you are to blame anyone here - which I don't recommend - blame me. I am the one that made us rest, the reason we couldn't catch up to them. Please Aragorn, feel grief but do not feel guilt." She looked into his eyes.

He nodded slowly but his gaze no longer fell on her.

Instead he was focused on a spot that fell right by her hip. She followed his intent gaze but saw nothing save for some disturbed dirt. He quickly got up from his kneel and looked closer at the dirt and rock.

"A hobbit lay there, and there" he whispered.

He looked at the ground intently; clearly it was revealing the secret of life was he whispered to himself walking away from the group.

"Their bonds were cut." He stated.

He looked up at the group that was still watching him. He motioned for them to follow as he looked for more indications of the hobbits. He continued off a small distance until he came to the edge of a forest.

"Well let's go then!" Stella exclaimed.

If Merry and Pippin had any chance of being alive she wanted to find them.

"That is Fangorn Forest," Gimli explained.

He sighed at Stella's eye roll.

"I honestly don't care what it is called, I want to see my friends!" She replied.

"It is home to the Ents." Legolas supplied.

As if it would mean something to Stella. He looked at her pointedly as if to tell her not to ask anymore questions.

"Just like William, a few years older and you think you know everything!" she grumbled as Aragorn slowly led them into the forest.

"By your count more than a few." Legolas chuckled at her.

She scowled. He was right she was the youngest of the group but that hardly warranted any teasing. She always hated her age. Even amongst William, Brandon, and Kat, her best friends, she was the youngest by at least three years.

They moved at a snails pace and Stella became bored of their chatter regarding the White Wizard. 'As if I could do anything to stop him from speaking. I can barely stop myself from speaking.' She thought. She contented herself to enjoy the cool breeze of the forest. It was not until Gimli started insulting these 'Ents' that the whole forest started to shake.

"Gimli, I think it would be best if you shut up!" Stella whispered to the dwarf.

She had no idea what these creatures were but she now figured that they were larger than the _'Ants' _she had envisioned.

Suddenly there was a flash of white light that blinded Stella. 'Well if we are going to die at least this is a pretty way to go.' She mused silently. It appeared the rest of the group was not so quick to accept immanent death as Legolas shot several arrows blindly into the light. Slowly the light diminished and Stella was granted back her eyesight.

"Gandalf!" Stella exclaimed. "I thought you were dead!" She cried as she ran to approach him. "I am so sorry I insulted you and your hat! I swear there is absolutely nothing stupid about either."

She ran into him gripping him in the largest bear hug she could manage. He chuckled lightly at her enthusiasm.

"Oh, my child, I often find that words spoken the heat of battle can hardly be taken seriously." He softly patted her head.

"But you have missed so much, Boromir. He died." She whispered.

She was unsure why it was so important for her to say it but it somehow comforted her. It made it all real.

"And Merry and Pippin!" she added. She had yet to release the towering wizard from her grasp. She looked up at him. "But you can fix this right?" she asked, knowing that there was nothing he could do to revive the dead.

"I think we can trust that Boromir's soul is in a better place." He told her softly. He carefully extricated himself from Stella's hug. "As for Merry and Pippin. I have sent them with the Ents to Isengard, I can assure you they are safe for now." He told the group.

The group, now including Gandalf, moved slowly through the forest as Gandalf told them about his battle with the beast of Moria.

"You fought the devil and you won! Amazing, some one should right a song about that one, much more exciting than fighting the law and you ended up winning."

"Stella, as always, I feel that we are missing more than one piece of information when you talk." Gandalf responded.

"Sorry." Stella grinned sheepishly. "_I fought the law and the law won, _it's a song back home. Very popular in its day." She quipped. "I can't really sing it because the key is a bit lower than I could ever go but still if you sang it I am sure it would sound just like how it's supposed to." She joked.

She could not help just how happy she was now that she knew Gandalf was not dead and that Merry and Pippin were safe. Her heart still ached for Frodo, Sam, and Boromir. But now she could focus on other things, like how she would soon have to return Ares II. She had missed that part of the conversation when they had been lent the horses. She still planed on finding some way to keep him.

"If you were only a hair smaller I would fit you under my jacket and steal you away." She whispered to the horse.

"It might be in your best interest to not become so attached with animals that do not belong to you." Gandalf smiled at her.

She could not help the effect that innocent comment had on her heart. She was slowly coming to realise that she had nothing here. Less than nothing, when this was all said and done she had nowhere to go. No home, no job, no money, no clothes, no possessions. It was almost too much to think about, she didn't even know where to begin. If she were home and in a similar situation she would just go out and find a job and crash on her friends' sofas. But here she had a feeling things were sort of different, she was under the distinct impression that women didn't typically go into business for themselves.

"Nothing belongs to me. Hell I don't even own this shirt!" She gestured down at Aragorn's blue tunic that she had commandeered from him almost two months ago.

The statement caught her companions off guard.

"What do you mean?" Legolas asked, riding up close to her.

"I mean exactly what I said! I have nowhere to go when this is all over and even if I had somewhere to go I have nothing to bring with me." She struggled to keep her voice steady. "Everything I ever had is back home. Pictures of my family, my third grade drawing of a faerie, the little hat I knit my baby cousin, Ares, it's all just memories now, I have nothing." She was becoming hysterical.

Legolas shot an irate glace at Aragorn who looked distraught. Legolas knew that there could be a solution to this dilemma and that Aragorn simply needed to fix it.

Aragorn had not even thought of Stella's uncertain future. He had intended to ask for her hand in marriage and he had thought that that would solve all of the problems. Stella would have a place to feel protected and with all of her talk of finding a family he assumed she would be happy. He had not seen that Stella had another life before she met him in the woods that night. A life where she knitted hats for babies and drew. He had never thought about any of it.

"Stella," Legolas whispered to her. "Never feel as if you are without a home. I can never replace what you have lost but know that when this is over you have a place in Mirkwood."

Stella looked up at him.

"Are you sure?" She questioned.

"Of course I am, I am prince after all I can pull some strings." He whispered conspiratorially.

"Thank you, that does make me feel better." She smiled at him.

The group moved on until they had cleared the forest. They emerged on the top of a crest and just below them was the city of Rohan.


	18. Family Ties

Gandalf led the way as they approached Rohan, expertly finding their way around until they came to a large wooden building that towered over the surrounding homes that were falling into disarray.

"What is wrong with everyone?" Stella finally questioned.

It was not that the surrounding people were not pleasant, however they were a sombre crowd. They looked on at the riders with intense curiosity and Stella noticed one commonality, they all wore black.

"Something is wrong here." Aragorn stated as he looked at a farmer that had paused his work to stare at the newcomers.

"Isn't that what I just said?" Stella snapped. "The question is what?" She looked over at a woman carrying a child.

The woman's eyes told a story of immense grief and anger. Stella made a small sound. She had seen that look before, it was the same look her mother had after William was reported missing. The same look Liz carried even months after that night. The same look that haunted Brandon had faced her with after he came back. The look was not one of death; rather it was a look of despair. There was no hope left in their world. Stella understood then the ignorance of her earlier statement. God never sent only one horseman they would always come together. War had pillaged, death had reigned, conquest had destroyed, and the people were left starving for hope.

Stella shook her head vehemently as if to erase her thoughts. She slowly returned her focus to the group smiling slightly at Aragorn. They dismounted and attempted to make their way into the building. Stella noticed the flags that flew atop the building. A mess of Celtic knots danced around the edge with the depiction of a large horse in the centre. 'Well they certainly get to the point.' She thought with a smirk.

A large burly man stopped them at the doors.

"I cannot allow you to see the King armed. Surrender your weapons, you will not need them." He stated, though his eyes indicated that he was embarrassed by the request.

Legolas and Gimli looked unbelievingly as Aragorn and Gandalf surrendered their swords and Legolas and Gimli followed suit. Stella was the only one that made no movement to hand over her concealed daggers. The group looked pointedly at her but she just shrugged hoping that they would get the message. The guard looked at her.

"And you." He grunted.

Stella fixed him with her most intimidating glare.

"A lady does not carry weapons." She stated in a voice that sounded scarily like her mother. She turned her nose up slightly refusing to make eye contact with the man.

"Right." The guard stated almost unbelievingly. "Your staff wizard." He commanded again with all the certainty he had lost after Stella's statement back full force.

"You would deprive an old man of his walking stick?" Gandalf asked, looking up at the man pitifully.

Stella had to supress a laugh as Gandalf leaned on his staff for support dramatically. The man rolled his eyes but allowed them to pass through the heavy wooden doors encased in gold.

Stella scoffed at the opulent nature of the building. The surrounding people were so poor and yet there could still be funds for golden doors. If she didn't stop herself she would become a Robin Hood for these people. 'I would probably need Legolas to be the face of Robin Hood. I bet he could split an arrow in half with his own.' Stella chuckled.

Stella walked past Legolas who was looking dejected about having to give up his new bow. She wrapped her arm around his, leaning slightly on his side. She surreptitiously handed him one of her daggers. Stella knew that she would be worthless trying to fight off any of the men. Her skill was fine but his was better, she knew enough to defer to him.

He looked at her in shock as she moved away to Aragorn's side.

Legolas knew that he had gained her trust over the past few months. She had proven that to him by resting beside him every night since leaving Lothlórien. He understood that she hated to be perceived as weak and when she was sleeping she was at her weakest. But giving him one of her only weapons, it sent him a clear message.

She wanted him to protect her. She did not need to say anything there was an understanding, one that can only occur between a bond as strong as that between siblings.

The group was marched, rather unceremoniously, into a room that was empty save for one ornate chair that sat facing the entrance. 'The Throne Room' Stella thought this a snort. She could think of twenty better uses for this enormous room than to house one glorified chair for one glorified man who by Stella's judgement had one foot in the ground all ready. 'So this is the great King Théoden. So well protected when the real threat to his life is time.' She wanted to say something but knew better, she held her tongue and grasped tighter to Aragorn's arm.

Gandalf began speaking but Théoden did not respond. Instead a grimy little man spoke, acting as voice for this aged king. The greasy man eyed Stella and she knew the only way for this man to cooperate was if she 'used what the Good Lord gave her'. She stepped further forward unknowingly dragging Aragorn along as well.

"Excuse me, Sir." She looked directly at the sallow faced man. "I am afraid I do not know your name." She paused waiting for him to respond.

"Grima Wormtongue." He spoke the words harshly though Stella could hear the curiosity ring through his voice.

"A pleasure to meet you Grima, my name is Stella. I am a very far ways away from home and we are very tired. We wish no harm upon you or your king, only for a place to stay and recover our strength." She smiled at him, hoping that he did not see the disgust in her eyes.

Grima looked at her in confusion before turning to whisper to the king. She waited patiently as her friends tensed behind her.

They could feel the soldiers around them shift slightly preparing for an attack. Stella remained blissfully unaware preferring rather to focus her attention on the rat like man before her. He had some sort of control over the king's decision that much was clear.

"Milady," Grima addressed her, "you have travelled far and you need rest you are more than welcome to enjoy the hospitality of Rohan." Grima did a little half bow in her direction.

Stella nodded her head, she understood. The offer was for her alone.

"I am afraid I could not leave my brother." She stated motioning over to Legolas. "Nor could I abandon my husband to be." Stella griped at Aragorn tighter. Showing him that she was sorry for any assumptions she might have made.

"Why should I allow you sanctuary, you harbour a Wizard amongst you, Gandalf the Grey?" Came the withered voice of King Théoden.

Stella attempted to cover up her groan; this was getting them nowhere.

"Now with an attitude like that it will get you nothing in life" She snapped, momentarily forgetting that he was a king.

Gandalf interrupted their conversation mercifully. While she was lost in thought and anger about this _King's _question Gandalf had acted against Grima effectively sending him across the room with only a gesture from his staff.

Stella was intrigued until she felt cool metal zoom past her head, she looked around and saw a man pinned to the closest wall with one of her daggers holding him there. Stella smiled as the man attempted to unhook himself from the wall with little success. She could not help but stick her tongue out at him while he struggled.

She turned and saw the tables had turned in their favour. Gandalf was pointing his staff at Théoden, Gimli had his boot forced onto Grima Wormtongue's sallow face, and the soldiers had lowered their arms when they saw what was happening.

A voice came from Théoden and if Stella had not heard him speak before she would have thought the words came from the old man. But instead of a soft wheeze that commanded little power it was a strong voice full of malice.

"It is the voice of Saruman." Gimli whispered from his location by the exit.

Stella merely nodded, this what how she had imagined the voice of the much talked about evil White Wizard. It was strong and forceful, terrifying and loathsome. Stella had to suppress a shiver. Saruman was controlling the King of Rohan, was that why he let that rat of a man so close to him?

The voice taunted Gandalf when suddenly there was a flash of white light, not unlike the light that had blinded Stella in Fangorn Forest. The voice let out a yell and suddenly the light was gone. Stella looked back at the dying king only to see that he was not dying. In fact he seemed younger, the wrinkles that were previously etched into his skin were fast fading and his wisps of white hair were transforming into thick blond locks. His eyes, which were previously marred by cataracts, were now clear, grey, orbs of light.

He looked around nervously searching for a familiar face. A young woman stepped into the room her pale blonde hair fell in loose locks around her waist; her eyes matched those of the Théoden. She took in his changed appearance and ran towards him laughing in relief. Théoden looked at the young girl and recognition swept over his face.

"I know you, my niece, Eowyn." He exclaimed.

The couple looked so happy, Stella could not help but feel the joy in the room and had a hard time keeping the smile off of her face. Stella looked over at Aragorn but saw him looking disdainfully at Grima. The man was truly repulsive. She saw Théoden looking in the same direction as Aragorn. He stood in sudden rage.

"I will kill you!" Théoden roared.

He strode over to Wormtongue grabbing him by the back of his neck. He threw the snake out of the building motioning for a sword. Stella was about to hand him one of her daggers, knowing it would do the trick. Suddenly Aragorn stood in front of the King placing a hand on his shoulder. He whispered something to the irate man that Stella could not hear.

"I will not kill you, not today. You are banished from Rohan, and should you ever return a swift death will fall upon you." He called out to the retreating man.

The group made their way back inside. Théoden offered them lodging and food which the company gladly took him up on. Stella nodded vehemently and her stomach began making sounds at the mention of food causing the men to laugh.

"Alright, I get it! That was perfect timing but come on I am injured don't I get special treatment or something!" Stella joked laughingly.

"Yes, yes make way for Lady Stella and her stomach!" Legolas grinned, as she scowled at him.

"If I did not love you so much I would hurt you for calling me that." Stella called.

"You can try!" He retorted, dancing away from the fuming girl.

The young woman from before approached her cautiously.

"You travel with men," She stated rather than the customary greeting.

Stella nodded.

"You dress like a man," She commented in the same tone as before.

"Yes, is there something wrong with that?" Stella asked impatiently.

"No, it is simply that I cannot imagine a father allowing his daughter to do such a thing." She replied with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

Stella's stare softened. She understood she really wished she didn't but she did.

"My father doesn't allow me," she whispered softly. "When I lived with my parents I only wore dresses, it made my Dad happy to see that I had become a lady and that made my Mom happy so I did it. Then I moved out on my own, my Dad wasn't there to tell me what to wear so I wore this." She pointed down at her pants. "And then I joined these guys because I wanted an adventure and nobody was there to tell me no. That is also probably the reason I smell like the inside of a barn, if that was your next question."

Eowyn smiled at her warmly. Stella could tell that they were similar and were going to get along very well.

"I was not going to say anything however, because you brought it up, would you like a bath? You can come with me if you like." She offered generously.

At the word bath all thoughts of food were forgotten she clung to the young woman in excitement.

"With warm water?" Stella almost cried as the girl nodded her head. "Yes please!"

Eowyn chuckled at Stella's enthusiasm and lead her away from the food and down a small hallway. Stella nearly skipped for joy at the prospect of a bath.

They entered a small room of to the left and Eowyn shut the door. Stella saw a large metal bathtub filled with warm water. She giggled briefly before shifting out of her boots. Eowyn leaned against the bed that occupied the left wall.

"I am sorry I didn't ask you this before but what is your name?" She asked in a timid voice.

"Oh! Sorry that's awful rude of me! My name is Stella."

"Eowyn." She nodded her head.

Stella made the same motion as she reached for the top of her pants. She didn't even think about Eowyn's presence as she stripped of her clothing. Eowyn made no objection to Stella's actions as she continued asking questions.

"Whom are you traveling with?"

"Well originally there were ten of us. All male save for me mind you. A man named Boromir, who I initially didn't like at all, even took him to the mat once. And then there were four hobbits, Merry Sam, Pippin, and Frodo, who were older than me but acted like children, Gimli, the dwarf, gruff at first but really a sweetie under all that hair, Legolas, the elf, who has become a brother to me and is always watching out for me especially when they all figured out that I am crazy accident prone, and then there is Gandalf, but I am sure you already know about him."

"Isn't there another, you only named eight plus yourself?"

"Yes, and his name is Aragorn. We are, well I thought we would, what I mean is -" She could not get the words out. "See he never quite said it so I'm not calling it anything." She finished flustered.

"I am sorry I don't think I understand." Eowyn sounded lost.

"Well Aragorn and I, we are seeing each other." Stella clarified. "And he well, I think, he started to propose about a week ago but he never got the chance to say it because we were attacked by Orc." She stated as she removed the large tunic revealing her stomach and chest, which was still wrapped in the bandage. "That's how I got this."

Stella removed the wrappings showing the nasty cut that ran down her side.

"Anyways, long story short, he never asked all the way and I never replied; so we are confusing." She looked at Eowyn, who seemed lost in thought.

"What are you wearing?" Eowyn asked.

Stella threw her head back and laughed

"You have to at least buy my dinner first!" She chuckled before seeing that the girl was lost. "This is a bra, and these are the power puff girls." She pointed down to her undies. "They are child heroes with magic abilities. Totally fictional and very popular back home."

Eowyn just nodded but her eyes still held questions.

"You wear much less than most people, even men."

"Yeah well I come from a very hot place so it only makes sense to wear less layers. In the winter I wear more."

Stella removed the last of her clothing and sunk into the blissful water. The girls chatted idly as Stella washed away the grime that had collected over the days. As Eowyn helped Stella wash and untangle her unruly hair she revealed that her brother was banished from Rohan because of Wormtongue. Stella looked up at her in shock.

"You mean Eomer?" She laughed at Eowyn's shocked face. "We met him! He gave us the horses. I punched him in the face!" Stella exclaimed.

She held up her hand to show the bruising it had left.

"Why?"

"He called me a whore. I can tolerate a lot from men but I am not a whore. I guess I let my anger get the best of me."

Eowyn let out a loud laugh.

"I think we are going to make very good friends." She stated.


	19. A Battle Engagement

Stella's clothing was deemed too filthy for her to place back on her clean body so she begrudgingly handed Eowyn her pants in exchange for a dark green dress. It was uncomfortable and made her legs itch but Eowyn insisted that she looked beautiful and after some cajoling Eowyn had convinced her to let her hair down. Her thick long blonde locks fell past her hip. Stella looked at her hair in horror, she had always loved her long hair but this was far too long. She asked Eowyn for a pair of scissors but was immediately shot down by the woman.

"You can't cut your hair! Just let it be long and braid it up when you are traveling" she reasoned.

Stella sighed, it did look good and if she were ever going to return back to her world she would want it long again.

"Fine you win this one but only because I kind of like it." She smiled at Eowyn.

She was glad that she was able to have some girl time again, after traveling for so long as the only woman she was pleased to talk about things that held little meaning to the survival of Middle-Earth. 'Like the world was going to come to an end because she had picked the green dress rather than the blue one' Stella giggled at the thought.

There was a soft tap at the door and Stella rushed to open it. Aragorn stood there with his mouth hanging open; apparently he had not expected her to change clothes. Stella leaned forward on him pressing her hand under his chin closing his mouth.

"Shut your mouth you are going to catch files." She scolded lightly.

He shook his head as if trying to clear his mind.

"Yes, well, I was hoping to speak with you." He finally spit out after a moment, though his voice was as flawless as ever.

Eowyn smiled knowingly and made for the door.

"Well if you want to talk privately you are free to use my rooms." She made wide eyes at Stella who grinned back in return.

As Eowyn left Aragorn stepped into the room he looked as if her was about to close the door but thought better of it. Stella sighed and strode past him shutting the door before turning around.

"Hello." She whispered softly.

She was unsure of where the timid personality was coming from but she suspected the dress had something to do with it.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright, you said you were hungry but then you never came to eat." He held her eye contact as she slowly moved closer to him.

"Yes, well Eowyn and I got to talking and lost track of time, and she got us something to eat here so that we could get to know each other better." She looked at him wondering if that was really all he wanted.

"I see I also wanted to ask you a couple questions."

She nodded motioning for him to continue.

"Earlier you said that there were all of these things that you were missing. Would you tell me more about them?"

"What do you want to know? You already know about Ares, and he is – was – the most important thing in my life. That other stuff I mentioned, they are just things. I really don't even know why I freaked out about it I was just struck with this image of when this is all over you all have things to go back to and I don't. I suppose I was jealous."

"But you said something about knitting a hat for a baby, won't you miss that?" He asked looking upset.

"There will be other babies, other hats to knit. It wasn't even for a first cousin. My crazy cousin is having another baby and I knitted hats for the first three so I had to knit one for this baby. But trust me I have seen my cousin give birth to three children, whom I love dearly, and miss fiercely, but I have started a new life. One in which I am certain, if I want to, I can knit thousands of hats." She giggled at the look of relief that washed over his face.

"Maybe not thousands, maybe five?" He looked into her eyes again gauging her reaction.

Stella giggled.

"You want five kids? Is that what you are telling me?" she giggled.

"I never wanted children," he answered honestly. "But recently I have been thinking about children, especially considering my childhood, and I think it would be nice to have a large family. There would never be anytime that anyone would feel alone."

"Yeah, there would also never be a time when a mother could fell relaxed! Why these questions about babies?" She asked innocently. "Are you trying to tell me something?" She joked.

"No, No, I just wanted to make sure that you really could be happy here." He assured her pulling her into a warm embrace.

"I already told you, I am happy. Why do you doubt me?"

"Stella, I don't doubt you I just want to be sure." He looked at her before breaking away. "I love you, I promise to love you and protect you, regardless of the future. You know that right?"

"And I love you. What is this all about?" Stella smiled at him still slightly confused; this conversation had been all over the place.

"Stella, would you do me the honour of being my wife?" he asked so quietly Stella would have missed it if she weren't looking straight at him.

"Aragorn, I thought you knew." Ste stated letting the words hang there like a lead balloon. "I said yes to a life with you the minute I said I love you. Of course I will marry you!" She smiled a full tooth smile.

He let out a breath of air, sweeping her up into a tight hug.

"You know this proposal is very different from the ones at home." She stated, as they finally broke apart. "Back home a man gets down on one knee." She slowly pushed Aragorn to the ground. "And he takes her hands, and he has a ring to present her. It is supposed to be a symbol of his love and devotion for her. And once she says yes he slides the ring onto that finger." She motioned to her ring finger on the hand Aragorn was still holding. "But," she paused pulling Aragorn to his feet again "I like your way better." She smiled.

She pulled him into a searing kiss only breaking apart due to a mutual need for air.

"So you don't want a ring?" he clarified.

"I don't need a ring to know that I am yours. I already knew that, apparently it was you who needed assurance." She smiled not willing to break their tight embrace.

"Well I don't have a ring, but I do have this." He fiddled with something and produced a small thin bracelet that had a detailed design running through it, small green jewels encrusted in a pattern that made little sense.

"Oh Aragorn it is beautiful, where did you get this?" Stella exclaimed unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"The Lady Galadriel gave it to me as a parting gift. It is, I believe, mithril." Aragorn stated.

Stella's mouth dropped as she reached for the bracelet. She remembered her last thoughts on the strange silver metal. _'I could have a room made of this stuff and never have enough'_.

Aragorn saw her hand inching towards the bracelet as if she were afraid it would burn her. He slowly caught her left hand bringing it in close to his heart. He ran the bracelet over her wrist before clasping it shut. He raised her hand to place a soft kiss before looking into her eyes again.

"What is on your mind?" He asked

"The last thing I ever thought about mithril was that I could have a whole room made of this material and still not have enough. It seems Lady Galadriel understood my thoughts better than I did because this is worth more to me than a whole room." She smiled placing light kisses on his lips.

He laughed and she had to join him, that line had not sounded so cheesy in her head.

"Let's go tell the others." Aragorn suggested.

Stella squealed

"No, no I can't go out there! Look at how I am dressed." She pinched the fabric of the green dress. "And look at my hair. They will never take me seriously if I go out looking like this!" She exclaimed.

Aragorn shook his head.

"You are beautiful. And you should know by now that you have already gained everyone's respect. And if you haven't yet you can regardless of what you are wearing." With that her dragged her out of the small room anxious to show Legolas.

The elf had been on his back about it ever since Stella's confession that she had nothing and nowhere to go. Aragorn wanted to prove to her brother that he could protect and provide for her. He had already asked Legolas for permission weeks ago.

The couple made their way to Legolas and Gimli who both sat in the centre of the room talking animatedly. Legolas looked up to see Aragorn and some woman walk up to them with a smile plastered on his face. It was only after a second glace that Legolas saw that the woman was Stella. His mouth dropped open but he quickly corrected himself.

Gimli had yet to see Stella and was taking a long gulp of his beverage before turning to see what Legolas was gaping at. He saw Stella wrapped around Aragorn's arm and her appearance caused him to spew his drink all over himself and Legolas.

"Yuck, Gimli was that necessary?" Stella shouted, caught off guard by her friend's sudden inability to drink.

"Excuse me lass, it's just I have never seen you look so much," he paused looking for the right words. "Like a lass" he finished, rather lamely in Stella's opinion.

"Yes well, I suppose there is a first for everything." She stated.

"You look lovely." Legolas stood indicating that she should take his seat.

She scoffed looking around for an empty chair. She quickly found one and lugged it over to her friends' table before flopping into the chair.

"Don't let the dress fool you, same old Stella." She smiled genially.

Aragorn chuckled a little before moving to stand behind her placing his arm possessively on her shoulders.

"I think Aragorn has something he wants to tell you. He practically dragged me out of my room to come find you." She rolled her eyes trying to suppress her own giddiness.

"Well my friends. I asked her to marry me, and she has gladly accepted." He smiled as he said it looking pointedly at Legolas.

The elf stood up holding his hand out to Aragorn, they whispered words in a language Stella could not understand, and did not bother asking about. It was probably Legolas threatening to cause him bodily harm if he hurt her in any way. It was what William would have done.

"Congratulations lass. And if he ever don't treat you right you send him over my way you hear?" She asked his gruff voice only becoming harsher as he attempted to suppress his emotions.

She smiled at him and patted his back as a sign of appreciation. The group talked for a little while longer before news turned serious. Apparently King Théoden planed to ride into battle and danger in an attempt to save his people. It was clear that Aragorn disagreed with the decision and was trying his best to hold his tongue.

As the men talked about their impending doom Stella let her eyes wander. She saw two children sitting in the corner of the large hall staring at her. She watched as they were given a food. They were covered in dirt and looked half starved. Stella's heart ached for them and she wondered briefly where their mother was.

She stood up and made her way over to the two children. Upon closer inspection she saw that at most they were nine years old. The girl looked just like her little cousin she almost wept.

"Hello, my name is Stella. What is yours?" She asked quietly as if she would spook them if she spoke too loudly.

"My name is Freda, and this is my brother Eothan." The young girl whispers, pushing her brother who had fallen asleep in his soup.

"Well Freda, do you mind if I sit with you for a while? My friends over there," She pointed to the group that was now watching her. "They are talking about things that really bore me." She smiled.

Freda looked at her with the most sincere expression Stella had ever seen on someone so young. She nodded her assent, pushing her brother once again. Stella looked at the little boy he could be no older than six. He was trying so hard to be brave. Stella gently picked the boy up and placed him on her lap.

"Eothan? Are you hungry? Would you like me to feed you?" She asked slowly.

The little boy nodded his head before resting it against her shoulder. She carefully took a spoonful of the soup he had been eating and blew on it, making sure that it was not too hot. She gently placed the spoon at the boy's mouth feeding him slowly until there was no food left in front of him. The little boy yawned and she felt a weight pressed to her side. She looked down and saw Freda had fallen asleep on her side.

Stella saw Eowyn pass by and gestured over to her new friend.

"These children should not stay by themselves. They should stay with someone." Stella stated hoping that Eowyn would find someone they could stay with.

"You are right, would you do it? It seems they have already taken a liking to you." She smiled sadly at the children.

"Are you sure there is no one else?" Stella implored

"I am sorry I have been asking around, there is no one that can spare the time or the food. There is no one else."

Stella sighed.

"Alright fine, I guess I can do it. Just help me take them to my room?" She asked.

Eowyn nodded picking up the little waif of a girl. Stella picked up the little boy and followed Eowyn to her room.

"She is a natural mother." Gimli stated looking at Stella with the children.

"I asked her about it once, she said she couldn't imagine herself as a mother." Aragorn replied.

"Perhaps she has changed her perception on that issue." Legolas questioned with a raised eyebrow in Aragorn's direction.

"Perhaps, I got the idea that it wasn't because she didn't want to be a mother but that she was afraid to bring a child into her family."

"I don't blame her have you heard some of the things her father said to her." Gimli questioned in disbelief.

Aragorn nodded his head, he had heard some of her stories but he knew that the most personal stories regarding her father she had only hold one person and he was dead.

Aragorn watched as Stella took the two children to bed. He followed after her and caught the end of Stella's conversation. She was telling Eowyn about the proposal. Her voice rang with happiness.

"It won't be long before you have your own children to worry about." Eowyn stated.

He heard Stella laugh.

"Yes, I suppose. I always thought I was too young to have children. But I suppose everything is different now. Besides look at these kids, who couldn't want children after seeing them?" She questioned with a laugh.

Eowyn laughed and promised to have bath water draw up for the children in the morning. She bade Stella goodnight and slipped out the door. She saw Aragorn waiting outside and smiled at him before walking in the opposite direction.

He knocked on the door and Stella pulled it open, she was expecting him.

"Hello again." She whispered putting a finger to her lips warning him to be silent.

She let him in and allowed herself to be wrapped in his arms.

"Aragorn, I need to ask you something. It had been on my mind ever since you proposed. I need to know that this isn't a battle engagement." She looked at him. Seeing the question in his eyes. "It was something William told me one time. Back home some guys before they go off to war they feel some sort of pressure to get married or engaged before they die. It's a pessimistic way to happiness. If they get engaged and die in battle at least they knew what it was to love. But if they don't die and they come back they regret marrying some woman that they lusted after." She explained to him. "I have only known you during a time of war, what if you just think you love me but what you really think is that you are going to die and you lust after me."

The words hurt, Stella knew she had to say them but that didn't stop them from stinging. Judging by the look on Aragorn's face the words hurt him as well.

"Stella, I love you. I can tell you right now that I have never felt this way about anyone. This is not just lust. I would want to marry you regardless of everything around us."

He spoke the words with such intensity that Stella almost took a step back.

"Thank you, I just needed to hear it. I needed to know that you wouldn't regret this, regret me, when this is over."

He shook his head once more before capturing her lips with his. She smiled, as they broke apart. She silently pushed him towards the door gesturing to the children that were fast asleep in her bed.


	20. Learning Responsibility

Stella awoke with a start as she felt a warm breath on her cheek. She tried to move but found she was stuck. Looking around she saw Eothan curled up on her chest and little Freda tucked into her side. She was confused by how they had gotten there. She remembered distinctly that she had put them on the bed and then decided to make herself comfortable on the floor. She could feel the floorboards beneath her and realized that the kids must have awoken in the night and crawled up next to her. Stella was pleased that they were so comfortable with her but it broke her heart to see that they were so alone.

Her movement must have startled Eothan and he began to wake up. He looked at her for a moment and began to blush; apparently embarrassed that he had crawled on top of her in the night.

Stella smiled at him before carefully moving them away from a still sleeping Freda.

"It is alright. Were you scared last night?" Stella asked calmly.

Eothan nodded and Stella saw the beginnings of tears cloud his eyes.

"Do not worry. You are safe now I promise. Here lets get you all cleaned up and something to eat how does that sound?" She comforted the little boy, wrapping him up in a soft hug.

"Thank you." He whispered in a voice that belonged to the angels.

Stella looked at him in shock that was the first thing he had said to her. She merely nodded and carried him off to the warm bath water.

"How old are you Eothan?" She questioned as she ran water down his back attempting to remove the dirt that stuck there.

He held up his fingers indicating that he was four years old.

"That is very young for someone to travel by themselves." Stella stated, "You were very brave."

The boy grinned but it did not reach his eyes. Stella finished bathing the young boy just in time to see Freda making her way towards them brushing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Good morning Freda! I am just finishing giving your brother a bath would you like one as well? I could help wash your hair, I could even pin it up for you."

Stella saw Freda's eyes light up at the idea.

"All right," Stella took the little girls silence as a yes. "How about you hop into the water and start cleaning up and I will be in in a moment to help you." Stella suggested as she picked Eothan out of the bath forgetting that he was wet and soaking her dress.

"Your dress is wet." Eothan stated once again shocking Stella with the purity of his voice.

"Yes it is. You know I think someone brought you new clothes this morning. Would you like to get dressed?" She asked unsure if he could do it by himself.

He nodded and scrambled for the bed where three sets of clothes rested. After looking at all three piles he found the one that belonged to him and quickly pulled his legs through the trousers. Stella only watched for a minute before turning back to Freda to help with her hair.

Almost two hours later Freda's hair was pinned up in an intricate pattern of braids and twists and she was dressed in a light blue dress. Eothan was wearing his trousers that Stella had to put on again because the first time he had put them on they were inside out and a dark blue tunic. Stella only just had time to change into her clean pants that had been left with the children's clothes before she heard an impatient knocking at the door.

She swung the door open seeing a worried Aragorn standing there. She took in his expression before ushering him inside.

"Is everyone alright?" She demanded.

Aragorn looked up at her.

"The king's son has been severely wounded there is little chance for his recovery. If he dies I fear this will only cause King Théoden more anguish and lead him to make a rash decisions that will get us all killed." The words spewed from him as if on their own volition.

"So why are you coming to me?" Stella questioned.

"I wanted to see you, and I thought perhaps you may have some way to help him." He moved closer to her. "If you will go and see him. Please." Aragorn looked desperate.

"Okay I will look at him but I only know rudimentary first aid I highly doubt I can help." She stated. "Come on Freda, Eomer. I promised a friend of mine that I wouldn't let you out of my sight and I intend to live up to my word. Lets see if we can get you something to eat."

She allowed Eomer to climb into her arms and held Freda's hand as they walked down the hallways with Aragorn leading the way. They stopped at the kitchens and got two pieces of bread for the children who munched happily on the warm bread as they walked to the dying mans room.

Stella gasped as she saw the scene. The man that lay there did look near death but it also looked as if nothing was being done for him. She silently passed Eomer to Aragorn before motioning to the guards to help her.

"We need to take off his clothes. Look they are filthy and soaked. The hole in his chest is the least of his worries!" She exclaimed.

She quickly set about removing the drenched clothes.

"You," She pointed to one of the guards. "I need clean bandages and water. And you, I will need a needle and thread. Go!" She shouted as she continued removing his clothes attempting to keep her cool as she took in the wound.

If she could get it clean it would be almost nothing but now it looked like an infected mess of dying flesh.

"Aragorn, could you find Eowyn and have her come here? If anything she can hold him down while I sew him back up. Or you can. It would be faster that way, come here." She wasn't thinking clearly. When she heard Théoden enter the room.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" he exclaimed looking irate.

"I am trying to fix your son, what does it look like I am doing." Stella responded as she saw the guards come back into the room.

She motioned for them to come forward.

"Go hold the needle over a fire, it needs to get really hot. Then dip it in the water." She instructed. "Hand me the water and a towel."

She quickly set to work removing the dirt and grime that covered the rest of the man's body.

"I need alcohol!" She exclaimed.

"No! You don't!" Théoden shouted back at her.

"Not for me, for your son!" She cried. "This is gonna hurt like a bitch, better to have him numb. For both him and myself."

Stella worked silently as a clear liquid was passed to her hands. She took a long gulp ignoring the burning sensation as it ran through her throat. She poured a decent amount on the wound ignoring the man's unconscious screams. She applied more until she was sure that there was no remaining bacterium. The man had awoken due to the pain Stella was inflicting.

"Good, you're up! Here have some." Stella commented with a stressed smile as she tilted the bottle towards his throat.

The man gulped down the liquid as Stella took the needle and deftly threads it. She was so thankful to her mother for teaching her how to sew all those years ago.

"This is going to hurt but you can't move or I will mess up. Aragorn is going to hold your shoulders so that you don't move do you understand me?" She asked in a calm voice.

The man nodded. Stella took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry." She whispered as she started picking out wooden bits that were still embedded in the wound.

Once that was done she sewed up the wound. It looked nothing like how it should have looked. Doc. McDreamy would have not been impressed but this wasn't an episode from a bad soap opera this was real life and if he had a scar at the end of it at least he had a pulse.

She had forgotten that she had an audience that included his father, the King. She quickly looked over the rest of the man's body, which looked filthy but was relatively unharmed. She moved back to his chest as she wrapped it in the clean bandages.

"He needs clean clothes, and to dry off. He also needs water. Especially now," She added looking at the now empty liquor bottle. "Seriously I said have 'some' not bottoms up!" she sighed exasperatedly. "I can't say with absolute certainty that he will live but he does have a higher chance. There will be no funerals to attend today." She assured the room.

"What did you do to him?" Théoden asked still looking upset.

"He had a hole, now he doesn't." Stella grumbled attempting to get over her nerves. "A thank you wouldn't be too much."

"You will receive my thanks if he lives."

Stella gulped. She turned back and put her fingers at the unconscious man's throat. His pulse was steady and the fever he had only an hour ago was much lower.

"Please live, I need to prove myself somehow." She whispered to the man that lay on the bed.

She turned back to the children that had remained in the corner for the entire time sitting silently.

"I am sorry you had to see that. Come on lets do something fun! There is nothing else I can do for him." She looked back at Eowyn who was patiently dressing and covering her cousin.

"What is his name?" Stella realised she never asked anyone while she was stitching him up.

"Théodred, thank you." She smiled at her friend.

"Yes, well he is in my prayers." Stella smiled before picking up Eothan and putting her hand out for Freda.

She left the room with Aragorn giving him a small smile.

"How did you know how to do all of that?" Aragorn asked.

"I took a lesson about a year ago on how to care for injuries when there are no healers around. I only took the lesson because my friend wanted to 'explore the wilderness' for a month and I wanted her to be as prepared as possible. But I never did anything like that, look my hands are still shaking." She indicated to the hand that was clasped firmly around Freda's. "Why did you ask me to help?" She asked.

"Because I saw the way you have dealt with your own wounds and I have never seen someone recover so quickly from an orc blade I figured you must know something the rest of us don't." He responded leaving Stella speechless.

"What are we doing?" Freda asked quietly.

"I wanted to show you some tricks I can do." Stella said looking at the little girl. "I had a friend that was a trick rider and she taught me a thing or two. I mean I can't hang upside down on my horse like she could but still I think it's pretty cool."

"Is Aragorn coming with us?" Eothan asked timidly.

"I don't know is he?" Stella asked looking at Aragorn.

"How could I say no to seeing this, in fact let me get Gimli and Legolas as well."

"Get us for what?" Legolas asked calmly as he and Gimli approached the group.

"Come on I guess I can show all of you." Stella sighed in false irritation.

Stella climbed onto Ares II as Aragorn gently placed both Freda and Eothan in front of her. Legolas and Gimli followed behind her while Aragorn took up the rear. Stella finally found a place that was mostly flat grass and hopped off picking up the two children one at a time and sitting them on the ground. She watched in amusement as Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn imitated the children.

"Okay you all ready?" Stella asked in a big voice playing it up for the kids.

They smiled and laughed at her antics and little Eothan even clapped. Stella laughed and nodded her head.

"Alright here goes." She called as she jumped back onto the horse's back and nudging him into a run.

She quickly threw her leg over to one side before sliding down so that her feet almost touched the ground before using her arms to fling her self to the other side of the horse. As she settled down into the saddle again she pulled the horse to turn and head back to her friends.

She smoothly pulled both her feet up out of the stirrups and found a comfortable resting place for them before drawing herself up so that she was standing on the back of Ares II. She laughed as she felt the wind pull at her hair before sitting back down in the saddle.

She stopped a few feet away from the group and dismounted the horse walking him back to the kids who were looking at her in awe.

"How did you do that?" Freda asked her eyes sparkled.

"I told you my friend taught me she used to work with a partner and they would compete doing these tricks. She only taught me a few of them." Stella smiled. "Ares and I, we were show jumpers." Stella smiled as she remembered some of her better competitions.

"Again, Again!" Eothan shouted as he clapped his hands.

"Again, Again! Maybe later, okay? I haven't done that in a while and it has taken a bit out of me." Stella smiled before scooping him up and flopping down on the grass with him in her lap. "Would you like to ride a horse?" she asked suddenly.

"I can ride a horse, my papa taught me!" Eothan stated looking very determined.

"I bet you have never ridden a Stella horse. Have you?"

"No, what's that?" Eothan's face went from confident to doubtful in a matter of minutes.

"Here let me show you."

Stella drew her knees up and placed Eothan on top of them and she started to sing a nursery rhyme.

_"This is the way the ladies ride Jiggety jog, jiggety jog This is the way the ladies ride Jiggety jiggety jog"_ Stella bounced her leg in short small bursts on every 'jiggety jog'.

_"This is the way the gentlemen ride Gallop and trot, gallop and trot This is the way the gentlemen ride Gallop and gallop and trot" _She bounced her legs with more force that before.

_"And this is the way the farmer rides Hobbledy hoy, hobbledy hoy This is the way the farmer rides Hobbledy hobbledy hoy" _Stella moved her legs at different times causing the boy to rock gently.

Eothan let out a loud laugh.

"Thank you!" Eothan exclaimed hugging her tightly.

Stella laughed and looked to the corner of her line of sight to see Freda collecting wild flowers.

"Freda, what are you doing?" Stella called.

"My mama could make the prettiest crowns out of flowers. Can you?" Freda asked softly

Stella remembered one day when she was eight she had made daisy chains for her and her brother. She had placed it on his head and declared him king of the front yard. She had quickly made herself a crown of flowers and declared herself queen of the backyard. A water war had ensued for land.

Stella laughed.

"I think I remember. It has been a while so you will have to help me." Stella grinned at the little girl.

They started making crowns out of the flowers Freda had collected. After a few hours Stella and Freda determined the crowns worthy of royalty and showed them off to Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Eothan, who had insisted on sitting with them claiming that he was too old to play with flowers.

Stella and Freda had made six one for each of the group. The girls both wore their own as the approached the men.

Freda walked up to Gimli and slowly offered him the crown.

"Oh Freda don't be shy just put it on his head! I'll make sure he wears it!" Stella called when she saw Freda's timid behaviour.

Freda smiled before putting it on his head and moving over to Legolas who graciously bowed his head and allowed Freda to put the ring of flowers on his head. Stella walked up to Aragorn and placed the crown of flowers on his head and kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"Very attractive." She whispered in his ear.

She then moved on to Eothan who was sitting next to Aragorn trying to look just like him.

"And how about you, little prince? Are you too old to wear a flower crown?" Stella asked with a smile.

Eothan shook his head and grinned like a mad man as she placed the ring of purple flowers on his head.

The day passed on and the group made to leave the field and head back to the gloom of the building.


	21. Death March

"I still don't understand why?" Stella complained to Eowyn as she redressed Théodred's wound. "This stupid Helm's whatever, it sounds dumb. I mean since when has backing yourself into a wall ever been a good idea? What you need to do is get to high ground and just declare yourselves winners. Like in Star Wars." Stella commented drily.

Eowyn just laughed at her friend's senseless ramblings. Her laugh was one of the reasons liked Eowyn so much, she never asked for an explanation for even the silliest of statements.

"Stella, you must understand Helm's Deep has never fallen. It is more than just rock in my Uncle's eyes. It is salvation."

Stella rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I have heard about where we are supposed to be in this salvation. Caves! Eowyn! Dank, dark, smelly caves! How can you be alright with this?" Stella almost screamed.

"Because I have no intention of going anywhere near them." Eowyn confided in her. "I can wield a sword better than half these men." Eowyn drew herself up. "I will help protect these people."

"Okay, how can I help?" Stella asked quietly.

"You can start by knocking some sense into my little cousin." Came the weak wheeze of Théodred.

The women jumped slightly. They were not sure when he had awoken.

"Oh, you're up again. That's good. How do you feel?" Stella asked running her hand over the pulse point on his neck and checking his temperature.

"I am fine enough. Tell my cousin that she has a responsibility to my, father, her uncle, King of Rohan. She has no place in this war." He grumbled.

"You know I am better than half of these men with a sword. You taught me yourself." Eowyn reasoned, cupping the man's face with her small palm. "I am glad you are awake. I thought you were dead. Stella saved your life."

"No, No I didn't. And even if I did, I did it for completely selfish reasons. So don't go about thanking me. Freda Eothan come her and see the man you helped."

She smiled as the pair approached him cautiously. Freda had been so helpful after they had gotten back from the field that afternoon. She had not left the man's side constantly placing wet cloths on his head to help reduce the fever.

"I want to be able to help people like you did." She had stated quietly when Stella asked her why.

"Théodred, this is Freda and Eothan." Stella smiled.

"Lady Freda, I do believe I have a memory of you tending over me last night. Thank you." He bowed his head slightly. "And young Eothan, it is a pleasure to make you acquaintance."

The boy turned a beetroot red and hid his face into Stella's sleeve.

"They are beautiful children, you must be very proud." Théodred spoke to her.

"Oh, no, these aren't, they are not my children." Stella clarified as she turned the same colour as Eothan.

"I am sorry, I did not mean to offend you."

"No, no it's fine really. You should not move too much, it will hurt a lot if you rip the stitches. I have done it once before and trust me neither of us want to go back and give you more." Stella shuddered at the thought. "I suppose you heard about going to Helm's Deep. If, by the time we leave, you can walk across the room without pain it should be okay for you to ride there. Where has Eowyn run off to?" Stella questioned, just realizing that her friend had silently vanished.

"Probably to go tell my father, last I remember he owes you a thank you." The man groaned slightly as he turned to face her.

"I told you not to move." Stella reminded him.

"My son!" there came a cry from the door.

Stella turned sharply. She saw Théoden, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli Standing in the door behind Eowyn.

"Look, my Lord. He is awake." Eowyn said pointing out the blatantly obvious.

Théoden made his way to his son's side and knelt down. He said nothing simply looking at his son in wonderment.

"When can he leave?" He looked up at Stella.

"First I think you owe me a thank you, and I have no idea. If he can walk he can go, but he can't even turn on his side without pain right now." Stella explained attempting to keep the anger out of her voice.

"Thank you for saving my son."

Stella nodded briskly holding tightly to Aragorn's sleeve as he made his way over to her. Stella moved to leave again but was stopped by the sound of Théodred's voice.

"Thank you Stella, even if you did save me for your own reasons."

"Anytime." Stella smiled as she made her way to the door with Aragorn leading her out.

They waited for two days for Théodred to recover. In that time half of the city had been evacuated to Helm's Deep.

Aragorn, Stella, and Eowyn rode close together. Stella had Eothan and Freda riding with her. They rode in silence as Stella listened to Gimli explain to anyone that would listen that he had no purpose on a horse, a point only emphasised when he fell forward to the ground.

When they stopped for the night Eowyn set out to make some sort of food for the complaining Eothan and Freda. What she produced was something between hot water and raw meat. Stella grimaced if there was ever an argument to remain vegetarian that would have been in, however because she had lent no hand in cooking the 'meal' she kept her mouth shut. Aragorn tried to eat it but judging by the look on his face it was a hard task.

"Just tell her thanks but no thanks. She's a big girl she will understand." Stella told him as he took another dutiful bite.

"She is your friend I am simply trying to make friends."

"Getting yourself sick will help absolutely no one." Stella argued back.

Théodred approached the couple holding a similar bowl of 'food'.

"She's my cousin, and I love her. But this, nobody should be forced to eat this." He made a face.

Eowyn overheard and stomped over.

"If it is so repulsive why don't you make something?" She asked her cousin coldly.

"It is not my job, you are the woman. It is your responsibility to feed us men."

Stella scowled before turning to Aragorn.

"You better not hold those same values mister. Because all I will feed you is poison." She laughed at his exasperated expression.

"Yes, yes I am well aware of your inability to cook." He grimaced at remembering her description of the food poisoning she had given her previous suitor.

Laughing Stella leaned into him.

"So understanding." Stella mocked his grimace with a laugh.

Legolas and Gimli made their way to the laughing couple. As they settled down for the evening Aragorn and Legolas encircling Stella and the two children that refused to leave her side, Stella allowed herself to relax knowing that should any danger occur she could protect these children and Aragorn and Legolas would protect her.

The next day was harder than the first. Freda and Eothan were tired of riding and Gimli's remarks had lost there humour. Legolas had run ahead of the group saying that he was acting as scout but Stella had the distinct impression that he was really just bored with the company.

There was shouting and an awful cry heard and Legolas ran off to see what caused it with Aragorn following behind him.

"Orc!" Aragorn yelled back to the travellers, which consisted mostly of women and children.

Théoden looked at Eowyn with a panic in his eye.

"Go, lead them to Helm's Deep. We will fight these beasts." He called to her.

Eowyn shook her head.

"No, I can fight. I want to fight!" She protested.

"These people need you." Théoden stated in a voice that left no room for argument.

Stella saw Aragorn running back to her and for a brief second she thought he was going to come with her to Helm's Deep.

"Stella I need you to go with them. Please, look after Freda and Eothan. We will be back." He implored her.

"Where you go I go. So if you are going to fight these beasts so am I." Stella stated in a voice that shook.

"No Stella. This is not the same as before. I need you to be safe; I cannot fight properly knowing that you could be hurt." He looked at her. "I promise I will come back to you. I need to protect you."

Stella wanted to cry but knew it would get her nowhere. She watched as Aragorn mounted the horse that had been lent to him.

"Come here then." Stella demanded.

She pulled him into the most passionate kiss she could muster pouring all of her love for him into that one action.

"You come back to me! Do not leave me. I need you." She whispered in his ear.

"I am so sorry." Aragorn murmured.

Stella shook her head.

"Don't be, I can handle a military husband. I just need you to be alive." She stroked his cheek.

He did not break eye contact as he rode away leading the pack with Théoden and Théodred beside him. Stella waited there for a moment she imagined that Aragorn would turn back and they would ride off together away from the danger. She quickly dismissed the thought and turned following the mass of women and children.

"Is Aragorn going to be alright?" Freda questioned quietly.

"Yes I am sure he will return." Stella said with a confidence she did not feel.

"Then why are you crying?" Eothan asked in the same tone as his sister.

She had not noticed she had begun to cry and did not wish to lay that burden on these children.

"Because I travelled with those three for a long time, and I hate to see them run off on an adventure without me." Stella answered. It sounded weak but it was the best she could come up with. "And that makes me sad."

Freda and Eothan nodded in understanding before returning to silence.

The remainder of the trip to Helm's Deep was swift but for Stella and Eowyn the stress would not be relieved until their families were returned unscathed. Stella might not have been the biggest proponent of making the long trudge to this wall but she was in awe of the sheer size of this place and the number of people that had managed to fit inside it.

Stella hopped down holding Freda and Eothan close to her afraid that they would become lost in the crowds.

"My children!" Stella heard a woman cry "Freda, Freda! My child."

Stella spun around to see a crying woman.

"Mama!" Freda cried, "That's my Mama!" Freda let go of Stella's hand and ran to the woman who was kneeling with her arms open.

Stella walked to the woman still holding Eothan.

"Hi, my name is Stella. I have been taking care of your children for the past few days. It is a pleasure to meet the woman that raised such well behaved children." Stella beamed at her.

Stella had never been more grateful to her mother for teaching her how to best cover disappointment. She was glad that the kids had found their mother but in the past days she had come to see them as her own, her family. She handed Eothan to his mother.

"Thank you, thank you for looking after my children." The woman whispered as she pulled Stella into a hug with her children.

"Well I best be going, I am sure Eowyn will have something for me to do now that we are here." Stella murmured at a loss for what to say.

The woman just nodded tears staining her face as she returned her attention to her children. Stella moved away from the happy family unable to stop the tears that irritated her eyes.

Eowyn did have a job for her, one, which she claimed, was of great importance but that didn't stop Stella from grumbling about it.

"Counting potatoes? Really Eowyn? There has to be a better use of my time."

"Well when the men return I am sure there will be people for you to bandage." Eowyn promised with a small smile.

"Whatever, once we are done counting it where does it all go?"

"This can't be all of it! There is barely enough for a few days."

"This is it. People were complaining that they lost a lot in the panic of the moment. I suppose people forgot about food when they were worried for their lives." Stella reasoned seeing now that there was a clear shortage.

"Well have it all taken to the caves." Eowyn told her.

Stella could see the stress in her eye.

"Do not worry, Eowyn, they will come back. All of them will come back and it will al be alright."

"How do you know that?"

"Because, Aragorn promised me and I have to keep faith." Stella answered simply.

"I wish I had your confidence." Eowyn whispered as she turned to leave.

It was only one day later that the riders entered through the gate, but there were not as many as started. Stella gasped as she made her way through the crowd of wounded men.

"Gimli!" She shouted. "Thank goodness you are alright. Only a few scrapes and bruises." Stella ran a hand over the visible injuries on the dwarf.

"Stella we need to tell you something, perhaps it would be best if you sat down." He whispered in a gruff tone.

"Alright, just give me a moment and make sure no one is about to die here. Where is Legolas?" She moved away not allowing the dwarf to answer her. "Legolas there you are! Lets see you, not a hair out of place as usual. If I wasn't so worried about you I would be angry." Stella was talking but mostly to herself.

"Stella you need to stop for a moment!" it was Eowyn's voice but it seemed distorted by tears.

"I can't stop! I need to find Aragorn. Where is he?" She looked around anxiously.

"That's just it Stella. Aragorn, he fell, he is dead." Eowyn answered.

"What? Is this some kind of a joke, it is in very poor taste." Stella looked at Legolas.

"I am sorry Stella her words are true."

"No, No, he promised me! He can't, No. Get me a horse!" She screamed.

"Stella there is nothing you can do. Sit down." Legolas tried to reason with her.

"No, get your hands off of me. I need a horse." She ran around looking for Ares II.

She mounted the horse pulling sharply on the reins.

"Please I just need to see it. He can't be dead." She cried as she took off.


	22. Mostly Dead

Stella had not gotten ten metres before she heard the pounding of footsteps behind her."

Legolas don't try to stop me. I am going to find him and I am going to bring him back and I am going to fix him or so help me God I will kill the person that is responsible for this." Stella did not even bother to look back at him; afraid to see the look of pity he gave her.

"You have my protection Stella. I know you need to do this; I just wish it did not have to be done. He was my friend as well, I did not agree with King Théoden's declaration to leave the dead."

"Thank you." Stella murmured, looking down and taking deep breaths.

She tried to calm her anger at Théoden with little success."

He told you to leave them there? Why?"

Stella had never felt so helpless in her entire life. She felt her chest constrict. She knew she should never have left him. 'Nothing good ever comes from leaving people' Stella thought. Her breaths became shallow and she could tell that she was not getting enough oxygen.

"Stop, I need to stop!" Stella exclaimed as she dismounted the horse. "Oh, I can't breathe!" She leaned over and clutched at her chest.

Legolas was by her side in an instant moving almost silently. He held onto her shoulders balancing her while she attempted to regain her breath. After what felt like hours Stella was finally able to feel like she could breathe again.

"I'm sorry I freaked out I just can't imagine leaving the people that laid down their lives to protect their families. Why?" Stella questioned again still unable to fathom such action.

"This is war Stella. Things happen, it isn't right and it isn't nice but it is war." Legolas explained.

"Missing in action."

"What is that?"

"What they call someone that was left behind, missing in action. It's what happened to my brother, I won't let it happen to my husband." Stella was determined.

She mounted Ares II again taking a calming breath before kicking him into a run. Hours later at the fast pace they came to the bodies. The smell was almost too much but Legolas moved through all of them barely stopping to look for Aragorn.

"What happened to him? Why aren't we even looking for him?" Stella questioned.

"Because his body isn't going to be found there, it hardly makes sense to look where I know I wont find him. He fell over the cliff." He pointed to a large rock that dropped straight to nothing.

"He fell off that?" Stella whispered to herself. "Well then we have to go down and find him. What's below?" Stella inched her way forward to the cliff.

Water, there was lots of water.

"He could be fine, just resting there. You don't know. It could all be fine." Stella was grasping at straws but she could not give up yet.

Legolas sighed but he could hear the desperation in her voice and said nothing, They found a way down and Stella flew down the path.

"Stay there, watch the horses. I will just run down and see if he's there I'll call if I need you." Stella called already running away.

Her eyes scanned the surroundings. She saw nothing. Rocks, many grey rocks. Stella began to lose hope. She wasn't about to leave empty handed. Stella was determined to find something that proved he was even there.

"Aragorn! Aragorn!" Stella called in a last ditch attempt to find the man alive. She heard nothing.

She ran a little further hoping that he would be just a little further ahead. Still nothing. Feeling the anger boil up inside her she let out a scream kicking the nearest boulder. To her shock the boulder shifted slightly making a small noise. Stella knelt down to look at the rock.

"Aragorn?" Stella whispered. "Oh shit. Aragorn!" She could not stop the hysterical laughter that left her when she saw his face.

She put a shaky finger up to his neck trying to find a pulse. He had gashes running up and down his arms.

"HA!" Stella cried out in success. He had a pulse, it was weak but it was there.

"Arwen." Aragorn mumbled.

Stella's heart sank she wanted to run away. She couldn't let herself think about it, the fact that he had said another woman's name. She had to save him; if he lived she would ask him about it. And then kill him.

"Legolas!" Stella called at the top of her voice, knowing that he could hear her.

Tem minutes later Legolas was in view. He came running at the sight of Aragorn.

"Is he dead?" Legolas asked quietly, probably in response to the tears that ran down Stella's face.

"No, only almost dead." Stella glared at her brother. "And if he was, that was horrid way to approach the subject." Stella reprimanded. "Here help me get him up."

"Stella?" Aragorn called.

"Yes, yes I'm here. Don't worry you are going to be just fine, hang on now." She comforted him.

"I thought I told you to leave." He mumbled, so low that Stella almost missed it.

"Yes and look at where that got us. I am not leaving you ever again." Stella quipped.

"Love you."

"I love you too." Stella told him.

They rode in silence at a slower pace than before. Stella wanted to get them there quickly to help Aragorn but knew that the fast pace would probably only make it worse. As they approached the wall Stella let out a breath that she did not realise she was holding.

"Thank you Legolas. I don't know what I would have done without you." Stella looked over her shoulder.

"You're family Stella." Legolas stated as if that were the answer to all of his actions.

Stella nodded before moving away.

"Can somebody help me here? I need help." Stella cried to one of the soldiers.

She got one of the men to drag Aragorn to her room and hefted onto her bed. 'Not really how I expected to have him sleeping on my bed.' She joked silently. Stella gently pulled off his shirt and began cleaning the blood off of his shoulder. She took a deep breath attempting to calm her. He looked so weak and hopeless, lying unconscious on her bed.

"Wake up. Please wake up." She begged.

She slowly covered his injured shoulder and crawled over to his uninjured side. Stella wrapped herself around him nuzzling her face into his neck. She allowed herself to feel the exhaustion she had kept at bay slowly relaxing into sleep.

She awoke encompassed in warm arms.

"Good morning."

"Ugh, Morning." Stella grumbled wiping at her eyes. "Oh God, Holly Mary!" Stella exclaimed as she backed away from Aragorn in a hurry. "Sorry I just didn't remember that I fell asleep here, with you."

Aragorn laughed earning a glare from Stella.

"I am sorry but I do believe it was you that put me here." Aragorn argued.

"Yes well, yes." Stella fumbled for words. "How is your arm?"

"Much better. Thank you Stella, for saving me."

"We need to talk. I watched you ride off to go fight and you promised me one thing. You promised me you would come back. I agreed to stay behind and look where it's got us!" She started to yell.

"Stella. Please understand, I had to know that you were safe."

"Yeah? And look where that got me! Waiting around, being told that you were dead. I can't, I just I can't." Her words drifted off as she looked at Aragorn. "I went to find you, because I love you and I can't imagine my life without you."

"Stella I love you. I wanted nothing more than to come back to you. Please understand. I would never leave you." The look in his eyes was almost pity.

"Why did you say her name? When I saw you, you looked at me and called her name. Why?" Stella finally asked.

"I thought I saw her, on the river." Aragorn replied.

"Was that it? Did you wish she had saved you rather than me?" Stella bit out.

"Stella, no. I love you and only you. I plan on making you my bride, the future mother of our children."

She sighed unable to stay mad at him for too long.

"Fine, but if we are going to have children you have to stay alive long enough." Stella reasoned with a smile. "And if you fight, I fight. If we are going to die in this stupid war we are going to die together."

"I cannot promise that Stella. You mean far more to me than I could ever describe, I can't watch my wife ride off into battle."

"I am not your wife yet." Stella pointed out.

"Let's change that. I am sure there must be someone around here who could marry us." He looked into Stella's eyes with hope.

Slowly he got off of the bed to meet her in the centre of the room.

"Stella, marry me right now, before we lose any more. Let's become a family."

She looked at him with an open mouth.

"Are you joking? Here? This place is getting ready for a war not a wedding. We can't. I want to but we can't."

"Why not? We love each other, right?" Stella nodded "And we were going to be married soon any ways?" she nodded again. "And we don't know what tomorrow will bring." Stella didn't nod this time she was already convinced.

If Aragorn wanted this wedding, she would give it to him. She would stand before everyone and tie herself to him.

"You know, my father would be very proud of you." She stated dryly.

"And why is that?"

"Because you have finally made me settle down, think about children. I am becoming what my father wants." Stella tried to make herself sound angry but it was failing miserably.

"Do you not want to marry me?"

"You know I do. I just wish he were here to see it. Or at least Boromir could finally see me be made into an honest woman." She laughed. "But that isn't going to happen. Aragorn, if you want to be married to me right now lets go for it." Stella finally muttered. "But you are still going to have to put up with my pesky traditions. And once this is all over, the war I mean, I will want another party with all of our friends." She laughed.

"Anything for you." He smiled drawing her up into his arms. "Besides I think I will enjoy some new traditions."

"Okay then you need to get out. It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."

"Perhaps not all of the traditions."

He clung closer to her.

"Yes, perhaps not. But the dress, the silly rhyme, all of that, we do." Stella nodded. "But you do have to leave and I need to find Eowyn maybe she can help me with this. Would you tell Legolas and Gimli? They need to be there. Oh and Aragorn I love you." She smiled at him realising that she had started talking to herself.

Stella ran outside to talk to Eowyn about needing a white dress leaving Aragorn to roam around and find their friends and inform them of their plans.

"Eowyn, I need your help." Stella implored, looking at her friend with wild eyes.

"Is this about Aragorn? We can talk about it if you want I know loss can be so hard."

"What? No, what are you talking about?" Stella questioned, forgetting that she had not told anyone that Aragorn was living and walking and for the most part unharmed.

"Stella, he died. You have to come to terms with that. I am here for you."

Stella burst out laughing. Tears came to her face as she turned the colour of a tomato.

"Oh dear! Nobody told you? He's perfectly fine! I found him alone dying thanks to your Uncle and he does have a small gash on his shoulder but he's gonna be just fine." Stella assured her. "But he is the reason I wanted to talk to you, see we woke up this morning and I confronted him about leaving me behind and I guess he flipped. Now he wants to get married before tomorrow, and I told him that we shouldn't but really I can't tell him no. Besides if I am going to die tomorrow I want to die having experienced this with the man I love. Does that make sense?"

Eowyn looked doubtful.

"Stella, you know I would do anything so that you are happy but is this really the best idea? I mean look at where we are, there would be no party, no celebration just a marriage. Is that really what you want?"

"Look I couldn't care less about a party besides I have no one to invite anyways. This, the people I have here, they are the only family I have left, and if they are here it's enough. Besides if I want a party I can have one after the war." Stella reasoned.

"I just want your day to be special."

"You sound just like my mother. It will be special, but I do need a little help from you do you think your up for it?" Stella raised her eyebrows in challenge.

"Stella what about your mother, your father. What about them?"

Stella had to repress a shiver at the mention of her parents.

"Even if we waited until this war is over, my parents would never be able to come to my wedding. I ran away from that life, I literally just picked up and left with nothing but the clothes on my back. I have no way to contact my parents." Stella admitted.

To her surprise she felt Eowyn's arms embrace her.

"Alright, what do you need me to do. You are going to have a wedding regardless of tomorrow." Eowyn reassured her.

"Thank you. Do you think Freda and Eothan could be a part of the ceremony? It would mean so much to me if they were."

Eowyn nodded her head in the affirmative.

"Good, now about a dress. It needs to be white." Stella yammered as they walked back into the stone building.

She described the dress she wanted in perfect detail, she had seen it before one day when she had been at the supermarket. She had been walking down the aisles attempting to waist time until her roommate gave her the okay to come back in the room. Gemma's boyfriend had come it from Texas and they had politely asked Stella for the room. Stella took the hint and made herself scarce, she found herself wandering the market. As she waited in the queue to checkout she picked up a bridal magazine for sheer laughs and found it the dress she knew she had to have.

"Stella it sounds beautiful but we could never make that. Even if we had all of the time in the world, which we don't, we can't make that." Eowyn brought her back down to earth.

"I know, it was just dreams before all of this. It was almost the reason I wanted to get married. I knew if I said I would get married my father would pull out al the stops and buy me the dress. But, Brandon and I, we should never have even thought about marriage. We were best friends, and loved each other dearly but it wasn't what I have with Aragorn." Stella smiled goofily at her friend.

"Well you can't have that dress but if you are set on white. I do have one you could borrow."

"Ah that's it that will be my something borrowed!"

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh this rhyme back home for brides. _'Something Olde, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and a Silver Sixpence in your Shoe'_. It may be silly but it is tradition."

"A sixpence?"

"Money, a silver coin. They don't even make them anymore, that is how old the saying is." Stella clarified. "It's supposed to bring good luck."

Eowyn nodded.

"Okay lets see what we can do."

"Oh and Eowyn, you need a dress too. You're my maid of honour!"

"I think I am lost in your traditions."

"Thank you for putting up with me." Stella grinned.


	23. Some Light in the Darkness

"Stella!" came Eowyn's frantic voice. "Stella, keep that away from your dress!" She called, earning an eye roll from Stella.

"Honestly! It is my wedding day, and this is my last cigarette I can put it where ever I damn well please!" Stella called back.

"It's going to burn." The woman reasoned.

Stella made a large humph sound before holding the cigarette further away from the ivory dress Eowyn had lent her. She knew she should be thanking her friend rather than almost ruining the beautiful dress. 'Should have just said I would get married in pants!' Stella thought as she shifted uncomfortably in the dress.

Stella had taken hours to describe a traditional wedding to her friend and even still she could see some of the traditions just wouldn't be possible. She had tried to explain the garter toss and everyone in the room blushed, even Legolas, who was sitting in a corner attempting to keep himself out of the way after Stella yelled at him for joking that she would trip in the dress, had reddened at the mention of the lingerie.

"You know what? Lets just do this. I really don't need to psych myself out anymore. I know I want to marry him and the more time I waste trying to get you all to understand that the garter toss is a tradition and is entirely normal to do in front of a large group of people, even other males, the less time I get with my husband." Stella finally proclaimed.

It had been decided in a mater of minutes that Freda would be Stella's bridesmaid and Eothan would be Aragorn's Groomsman. Legolas was walking Stella down the aisle, even though he did grumble about that because he did not entirely understand the point of it all. Gimli was Aragorn's best man and Eowyn was Stella's maid of honour.

Stella did a quick run through on the traditions making sure she didn't miss one. She had the white dress she borrowed, an old ornate hairpin that Théodred had given to her.

"It was my mother's, her hair matched yours almost exactly." He stated smiling briefly before bowing low and exiting.

It was now pinned in with fresh new wild flowers. Stella had taken the sleeve of Aragorn's stolen blue tunic and ripped a small strip off the hem and wrapped it around her upper thigh.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and for good luck Stella had shoved a small silver coin that somewhat resembled a sixpence in her satin slipper.

The group made it to the main room in the building and Stella could not help but wish that they were in a large cathedral, she sighed wistfully and clung closer to Legolas.

"Did I ever say thank you?" Stella asked quietly.

"What for, I have done so much for you, you need to specify." He joked, attempting to loosen her nerves.

"For being my family. Traditionally the father of the bride walks her down the aisle and gives her away. If the father can't do it for some reason the oldest male gives her away. Boromir should have been here, this should have been his job, but since he's not I am so glad that it can be you."

"Stella, I am always going to be here for you." He stated simply.

"I know."

She beamed at him as they walked into the room. Stella looked at Aragorn who was standing next to King Théoden. 'Shit this is really happening.' Stella panicked for a moment before she saw his smile. 'This is the right thing to do.' Stella heard Théoden talking and turned her attention to him.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" he asked, frowning because the question made absolutely no sense to anyone in the room besides Stella.

"Me." Legolas called, his brow still furrowed but with a smile on his face.

Everyone in the room laughed at Stella's seemingly senseless traditions.

"Aragorn, repeat after me." Théoden commanded.

Stella smiled she had coached Théoden in the traditional vows. He had taken off on a rant about 'disregarding tradition' but in the end he had memorised his part and begrudgingly repeated the words she fed him.

"I Aragorn, take you Stella, for my lawful wife to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part."

Aragorn repeated his lines with a smile on his face, he grasped at Stella's hand. 'Prefect' Stella mouthed to him before turning to Stella.

"Stella, repeat after me." Théoden commanded again.

I Stella, take you Aragorn, for my lawful husband to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part."

"Very well, in traditional Rohan customs the couple will now light the unity candle to symbolize loyalty and fidelity." Théoden called with a smug smile.

It had been the one part of a 'traditional ceremony' that Stella had consented to. She appreciated the sentiment; she just couldn't wrap her head around incorporating a prayer for horses into a wedding ceremony. They were each handed a lit candle that they both used to light a fat candle.

"You are now husband and wife you may kiss the bride." Théoden finally finished.

Stella let out a loud squeal as she wrapped her arms around her new husbands neck. She had been fooling herself saying that this was for him; she loved him more than she could ever express to him and their marriage was only the beginning.

"I love you." She whispered, her lips brushing against his.

"I love you more." He stated simply before capturing her lips in his.

As the pair broke apart they turned to the small group. Eowyn was looking at her with a smile she was standing close to her cousin. Eothan and Freda were laughing and jumping up and down with their mother behind them attempting to make them settle.

"What do you say we get out of here? Enjoy tonight and not think about tomorrow." Stella suggested, smiling at Aragorn.

"I plan to enjoy tonight, and the next night, and the night after that." Aragorn whispered in her ear.

His playful words made Stella turn red. She had never thought about all of the things getting married meant. It wasn't because she had never thought about the wedding night, it was just that she had never thought about how this was forever.

After she and Brandon broke up there had been other guys but they had lasted a maximum three days. Stella wasn't naïve to 'the ways of the world' as her mother so uncomfortably phrased it, but one guy for the rest of her life that was a new concept to Stella. It wasn't that Stella was objecting to the idea she just hadn't thought much about it, mostly because there were so many other things to think about.

'I know exactly how many buckets of potatoes are currently in those dank caves but I never once thought about monogamy.' Stella laughed.

The couple rushed out of the room with Stella leading at a run Aragorn attempting to maintain some of his dignity by slowing her steps.

"I'm sorry I thought you wanted to go where?" Stella asked sarcastically.

"I do I just don't think we need to tell the world what we are going to do." he replied.

"I'm only going to sat this once so listen close. They already know." Stella stated with a smile. "Now," Stella pressed her back against the door to their room. "I think you need to kiss your wife." Stella giggled as they fell into the room.

Stella hitched her dress up around her thighs wrapping her legs around her husband's waist.

"Stella, What is this?" Aragorn muttered as his hands fumbled along her makeshift garter.

"Really? Do you see where my legs are right now? You want me to talk to you about it?" Stella questioned not waiting for a response. "It's a garter, well sort of. It's a piece of your shirt, the one I stole, and I made it into my 'something blue' for luck. The garter is a tradition you are supposed to take it off and throw it into a group of males and whoever catches it is the next person to get married."

Aragorn's attention fell on her upper leg as he inspected the strip of fabric.

"I'm not taking that off. I want you to always wear it, always have a part of me with you." he murmured running his hands along the fabric.

"Okay, I'll wear it. Really, now isn't the time to be talking." Stella whispered running her nose along Aragorn's neck appreciating the shiver that ran through him.

He shook his head laughing quietly, flopping them both down on the bed.

Stella awoke with the sun shining brightly in her eyes and totally alone. 'Well I guess married life and singles life isn't that different.' Stella thought, feeling slightly abandoned by the empty bed.

She got dressed quickly eager to find her husband. She roamed the halls for what felt like forever before finally finding him having an intense talk with Théodred. Stella strode up to the two men smiling brightly.

"What's wrong boy's?" Stella asked attempting to lighten the mood.

Aragorn wrapped his arm around Stella's torso, pulling her into him.

"It seems, as I have said before, war is upon us." Aragorn told her, not breaking eye contact with Théodred.

"You will have to bring your concerns up with my father." Théodred stated not sparing Stella a glance. "Lady Stella, if you will excuse me." He walked away leaving Stella confused.

"What concerns?" Stella turned to her husband.

"Théoden knows that there are not enough soldiers to defend this wall. He is telling all men over the age of ten to fight." Stella felt her mouth drop.

"Are you kidding me? They are children! They have no purpose fighting in some war. They will die! What if those were our children being told to fight?"

Stella flung her hands like a mad woman, as she looked over at a boy being handed a sword that was easily tree-quarters his size.

"No, no!" Stella called running over to the boy. "How old are you?" she demanded.

"Eleven, I had my birthday last week." The little boys voice shook.

Stella snatched the sword out of his hand.

"Have you ever used one of these things before? They are dangerous!" Stella screeched looking around. "Did you give this boy a sword?" she demanded to the soldier that was standing only a few feet away.

The guard nodded yes and Stella flipped.

"He's a boy! Are you insane! He's probably never even held a sword before! Get out of here before I hurt you!" She yelled.

Stella dropped the offending weapon on the floor turning to fully face the soldier who was refusing to move.

"I said. Get. Out!" She yelled again before punching him in the face. "Get. Out!" She yelled one more time pointing at the door.

She turned back to the kid who was still standing there almost trembling.

"It's okay. You don't have to fight if you don't want to. And you shouldn't fight if you don't know how." Stella tried to comfort him. "Don't worry about what anyone says about you fighting. Okay?"

The boy just nodded looking scared out of his mind.

"Good now go on go find a girl to flirt with." She joked with a smile.

The boy ran off without looking back. Stella turned to Aragorn smiling sheepishly.

"Maybe I was a touch to hard on that guy. Now I feel bad, he was probably just following orders." Stella pouted, leaning against his chest. "But lets forget about him. You are in trouble with me. When I woke up the morning after my wedding, I expected my husband to be there with me. I don't care if we are fighting tonight, which it looks like the case, if you are leaving me in bed you need to tell me." Stella told him with a hint of humour in her eye but at the same time conveying just how serious she was.

"I am sorry, I didn't want to leave you. Théodred came to the door and I didn't want to wake you up." Aragorn looked guilty. "You looked so beautiful sleeping, naked, on my bed." He whispered leaning closer to Stella. "I couldn't make myself wake you."

"Fine you win this one, but only because you paid me one hell of a complement. Now my husband needs to come make it up to me." She led him out the door and into their room.


	24. Open War

"How long have you known me?" She asked attempting to keep her voice calm. "I'm serious, how long have you known me? Have I ever said or done anything that makes you think I am going to agree to that? In fact I remember distinctly telling you that we aren't being separated by this war." Stella was irate and trying desperately not to show it.

"Stella, please understand I just want you to be sa-" he stared before Stella cut him off.

"I don't want to hear it! I am not going to sit in a smelly cave while you go out and get yourself cut to shreds trying to play the hero! No, you listen to me! This is not happening! You don't think I can protect myself? So show me! I'm not asking, Aragorn, I'm telling you. I am going to be right there by your side and really there is nothing you can do to stop me!" Stella screamed running out of the room not giving Aragorn a chance to respond.

She only got a few metres before she heard Aragorn behind her. She silently cursed her short legs before turning on him.

"What? What do you want now?" She demanded, becoming red in the face.

"Stop that. You are acting like a child." Aragorn told her in a voice that commanded so much authority that Stella could not help but be impressed. "Stella, I want you to be safe and you will be safe in the caves. It isn't up for discussion, I am your husband and you are going to do as I say."

Stella saw red.

"Is that why you married me Aragorn? You wanted someone to boss around? Someone that will do exactly what you say because we shared a few kisses! You have another thing coming if you think that is going to fly. I'm not your property for you to do with as you wish! Here!" She ripped her bracelet from her wrist. "Take that and find someone that is going to do exactly as you want!" She yelled stomping away again.

She ran through the maze of hallways looking for a familiar face. Finally she found Eowyn and Legolas in a deep conversation. She knew she probably shouldn't interrupt but didn't think about it for very long as she ran into Legolas.

"He is such an ass!" She cried as tears ran down her face. "Why did I marry him? Why didn't I see that all he wanted was to control me and make me hide away?"

She briefly noticed that Legolas' arms had encircled her and he was whispering something in a soothing voice. She struggled to get her breathing under control before she looked at him again.

"Come on, let's find somewhere quite and you can tell me what happened." Legolas whispered before shooting an apologetic look at Eowyn.

Stella nodded leaning against him as they found a quite corner to talk in.

"What is the matter? You have been married for less than one day and already you regret the decision? Stella, what did he do?" Legolas questioned before she could get a word in edgewise.

He took in her frazzled appearance and raised an eyebrow. Stella noticed and blushed attempting to adjust her clothing and hair.

"Well we were talking, and he said that I would have to go to the caves with the rest of the women and I told him no. You saw what happened the last time we were separated, I'm not going to let that happen again. Anyways he started telling me that I was his wife and I had to do what he says. Legolas, I love him but I won't be told what to do!" She leaned into her brother's side again.

"Stella, take a deep breath. I know this is not ideal but, Stella look at me, he loves you and he wants to protect you. He is doing everything in his power to do that, can you understand?" He asked quietly.

Stella nodded her head. She knew she was overreacting but she could not stop herself from thinking of the last time they were separated. She shivered a little.

"I want to protect him too." She finally responded

"The best way to protect him is to make sure he has something to fight for." Legolas responded.

"Why do you always have to make sense? Can't you just one time agree that I was right!" Stella accused with little conviction.

"I'm smarter than you Stella clearly." He laughed. "I will talk to him and this will all be sorted out." He hugged her briefly before standing up.

"Thanks Will." Stella mumbled before noticing her mix up. "Legolas, I mean, thanks." She smiled trying to avoid the look of pity he gave her.

With one final squeeze of her shoulder he walked away in an attempt to find Aragorn. Stella sat there thinking about her actions. She knew she shouldn't have said and done those things but Aragorn's words rang in her ears, they reminded her so much of her father she couldn't help but think of her life as her mother. She couldn't doom herself the way her mother could.

After hours of sitting alone she finally came to the conclusion that she really had no business fighting but she refused to be sent to the caves. If Aragorn didn't want his precious wife fighting along side him that was fine, she would do something else. She was so lost in thought that she missed Aragorn approach her. It was not until he finally cleared his throat that she recognised his presence.

"Hello." She greeted quietly, sure that her red puffy eyes would betray her stone face.

"Stella, I'm sorry. I am sorry I talked to you in such a manner; I just can't bring myself to imagine you fighting. I want you to be safe." He had moved closer as he spoke and it took everything in Stella not to back away.

"You can't talk to me that way. I'm not your property and I'm not just going to give up on what I believe in without a fight." Stella looked him in the eye.

"I know that you are not my property, I fell in love with you because of your fighting spirit. I just don't want to lose you."

"Fine, I won't fight. I wouldn't know what I'm doing anyways. And I am sorry; I said things I didn't mean. I was mad and I know you didn't marry me to control me. I'm sorry I even said it. Can I take it back?" she asked.

He nodded holding out the bracelet she had thrown at him.

"It's yours, it will always be yours." He whispered leaning closer.

Stella wordlessly held out her wrist allowing him to reattach the bracelet. It belonged on her wrist fitting almost perfectly. She gently ran her finger over the gems tracing the pattern. She knew that bracelet would never leave her wrist again and the thought made her grin stupidly.

"I won't fight but I'm not going to those caves. I'll be safe I can even help, I would make a great medic." Stella laughed knowing that Aragorn would not know the word.

Just as she predicted his brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to say something. Stella just shushed him with a look.

"A medic is like a healer of sorts. What I am talking about is someone that patches up soldiers and sends them out to fight again. That way you will lose less and need fewer children to fight this thing. I can help." Stella insisted. "I know I might not be able to do a whole lot but it seems I know a bit more than everyone else here."

"Okay, I can handle that as long as you promise that you will stay out of the fighting." Aragorn finally stated.

"As if I have not faced horrors you could only imagine_._" Stella whispered with a smile. "I love you."

It looked as if Aragorn was about to respond when a loud sound erupted throughout the building. They were here, Orc's, war was upon them.

"Go. Now! You need to go!" Stella gave him an urgent push. "I need to go find Eowyn, and make sure everyone is safe. I will come back here. Aragorn, be safe. I still need you."

They kissed briefly; it was not a good-bye kiss. Stella was determined to see him again. They would both me alive and happy and everything was going to be all right.

Stella ran off knowing that Eowyn would be unwillingly at the caves trying to comfort all of the women and children into a false sense of security. After what felt like hours of descending stairs she finally reached the doors to the caves.

"Eowyn! I have a way that you can fight! But you can't tell anyone that I am doing this. Come with me."

"Stella, what do you mean. I can't fight I have orders from my uncle to stay here."

"And since when do you ever do as you are ordered. Come on, we aren't even fighting. We are just going out getting the hurt people and fixing them up and sending them out again." Stella explained. "Helping and following orders." She beamed at her friend.

"Stella I promised Legolas that I would stay here." Eowyn admitted.

Stella wasn't paying attention as she looked through the boxes and crates for alcohol.

"Yes, yes." She responded without thinking.

It took her a minute to hear what her friend had said.

"Wait, wait. Did you say Legolas? Why is he asking you to stay anywhere? What are you not telling me?" Stella rushed out.

"Legolas asked me to stay here. You aren't missing anything. Stella he cares about me because he knows that you are my friend nothing more. He just doesn't want you to lose anymore." Eowyn explained as a slight blush ran across her face.

Stella didn't believe her but knew they were pressed for time and didn't push it.

"Alright. I believe you for now. We can talk about it later. Right now you need to take these." She handed the woman several large bottles of clear liquid, "and you need to come with me."

Stella led the way back up to the room she had just left only to see it in complete chaos. Wounded men lay everywhere, on tables and chairs, all of them looked near death. Stella looked around and thankfully saw that she did not recognise any of the faces and none of them were too young.

She took a deep breath and tried to convince herself that this would be the same as an exam. High pressure, limited time, and dependence on a prayer. This was nothing like school, there was blood everywhere but if she wanted to succeed she had to pretend.

"Right. You take that half of the room and I'll take the other side. Prioritise the least urgent people. I know this sounds horrible but they have the better chance of actually living." Stella ordered pointing over to the left side of the room.

'One of the best parts of living somewhere without tele, I can quote random shows and people just think I am really smart and witty.' Stella thought randomly.

"What about me?" Came a small voice.

Stella turned as if on casters. She looked down and saw little Freda standing directly behind her.

"Freda! What are you doing here?" Stella demanded.

"I wanted to help, I can help." Freda stated determinedly.

"No Freda, your too little. If you got hurt I couldn't live with myself." Stella argued.

"I'm staying! I can help." The little girl demanded again.

Stella was about to tell her to go back to the cave before she realised that it was exactly what Aragorn had told her.

"Fine you can stay but you stay right by my side. Understand?" Stella asked.

The little girl nodded her head and they moved off working their way around the bodies.

Stella finally found what she considered the best of the living. The man had an arrow jutting out of his arm.

"Alright, Freda, give me that bottle and a rag. Hey, Man, this is going to hurt a lot."

She lifted the man's side breaking off the tip of the arrow. The man screamed and Stella made no attempt to stop him. She flopped the man back over pulling the arrow out while pouring alcohol over the open wound. Thankfully it didn't start spewing blood.

"Ha!" Stella cried as she saw the outcome of her removal. "Hey man! Wake up! Your fine!" She smacked him in the face. "Wake up!" She shook the man harshly. "Freda, Do you know this guys name?"

"No but I have seen him before." Freda commented.

"Good, I'm going to wrap up his wound. I need you to sit up by his face and wake him up." Stella ordered.

She quickly bandaged him up and placed his armour back on. Stella looked up at the man she was caring over. His eyes were alert but he lay still.

"You are fine. Get back out there. Here, have a sip of this maybe it will give you some hope." Stella offered him the bottle she had been using to clean his wound.

The man took a grateful gulp and handed back the bottle. Stella handed him his sword and he looked at her as if she had suddenly grown an extra head.

"You are fine! If you can walk and breath you are a lot better off than the rest of these people and until this thing is over you are going to fight understand?" She almost yelled.

She stomped away giving the man little time to argue as another man took his place.

Stella worked for what seemed like hours and she quickly learned that she couldn't help them all. In fact she lost most of the people that she tried to help. She fast learned that she could do nothing more than say a quick prayer for their souls and move on to the next one. Freda had handled herself so well, not flinching once even on the more gruesome injuries.

About half way through the night the little girl collapsed on one of the men that had lost his leg. Stella moved to collect the little girl and put her some place safe and not laying on anyone but the man just held up his hand.

"It's fine," he whispered in a gruff voice. "She reminds me of my daughter. She's not hurting a fly, she's just tired."

Stella wanted to break down and weep when she heard the old man but simply collected her emotions and buried them deep inside herself. She nodded at the man and turned away.

From every account she heard from the injured soldiers they were losing and badly. Just as night was turning to day she heard the loudest cry she had heard all evening. Unlike the rest she heard that were pain induced this was one of triumph. 'Maybe we are finally winning.' Stella was hopeful but still on edge. She thought that if any of her friends were dead of injured they would come here, everyone else did. But as the night went on and she heard the status of the fighting she began to lose hope.

"It would be just like my husband to go out there and die and not even have the courtesy to come an see me." Stella half joked to he man that lay before her with a whole in his chest.

"My lady, I can assure you that should your husband die," he took a break to wince at her prodding. "Someone would have told you." He comforted.

"Well thank you, I am sorry I am afraid I don't know your name."

"Haldir, my name is Haldir." He nodded his head slightly up at Stella. "And you are Stella, you probably do not remember me. I am from the forest of Lothlórien."

Stella thought back for a moment to her time in that seemingly enchanted forest.

"So you are an elf?" Stella questioned.

"I would have thought the ears were a give away." He responded dryly.

"Yes. Well, I was a bit preoccupied with the hole in your chest rather than the shape of your ears." Stella quipped.

"You are fine but you can't go back to the fight. I assume your using that bow you are clutching to so tightly and right now I very much doubt you can raise your arm above your head." Stella finally declared. "So stay here and find something useful to do, or stay out of my way."

She moved on to the next man and began to work on him until she heard a victorious cheer erupt just outside. Her eyes lit up and she raced to the door thrusting it open only to see crowds of men with weary smiles on their faces.

They had won.

"Aragorn! Legolas! Gimli! Where are you?" She shouted unable to see them in the mass of people.

Finally she was able to make out Legolas' blond hair in the mass of grey. He was having a rather heated discussion with what looked like the floor. She rushed over to him, flinging herself into his arms.

"I thought you were dead!" she exclaimed looking around. "Gimli! What are you doing on the ground with all the bodies?" Stella asked, unable to keep the disgust out of her voice.

"Forty-three!" he pronounced with a smile.

"What's that now?" Stella questioned.

"That's my number of kills, the princeling came in behind me with only forty-two. I win!" He grinned again.

"Boys! It's not about the number." Stella chastised with a slight smile. "Have you seen my husband? He should be around here somewhere."

She wandered off looking for Aragorn. The last thing she heard from Legolas and Gimli was them shouting about if the one Gimli was sitting on was really dead.

Finally she found him. He was crouched over a body and Stella approached him with caution.

"Who is that?" She asked quietly.

"A boy." He answered roughly. "He shouldn't have been fighting and now he is dead."

"Aragorn, it isn't your fault. Hey, look at me; this is not your fault. Come on I will help you carry him to the place we have put the dead to be claimed." Stella led him to the small side room that was bursting with bodies. "He was not the only boy we lost tonight. I hate war." Stella mumbled before wrapping herself around Aragorn.

"I know." He responded simply.

"I have to go fix up the rest of the wounded and sort out the dead. Will you do me a favour?" She asked. "Freda came with me. I didn't take her but she followed me out and by the time I realised it was already too late. She was really helpful but crashed a few hours ago. Do you think you could take her back to her mother? I am sure she is worried sick."

Aragorn nodded walking Stella back to the main room.

"I love you. I am so glad you are alive. I never want to leave your side again. I love you." Stella whispered.

"I love you too." He whispered back before the couple broke off to let Aragorn pick up little Freda and Stella to deal with the rest of the injured.

Stella finally had her family out of harms way and she could relax even if only for a moment.


	25. Small Victories

"Gandalf!" Stella cried while launching herself into the old man. "Where had you wandered off to?" She asked, knowing that the old man would give no answer.

"Some things, my child, are best left unspoken." He finally stated.

The response made Stella scowl. It wasn't an answer and Stella had the distinct impression that he was hiding something from all of them.

Stella had just taken care of the last living soldier and was finally able to take a break. It was no surprise to Stella that, when given the option, she chose to sit with her newly reunited family rather than sleep. She had been given a blow by blow of the entire battle once from Legolas and then again from Gimli, who insisted that the elf was gravely mistaken. Perhaps Gandalf's reappearance was a shock to the rest of the group, Stella on the other hand found his actions incredibly predictable.

"You old dog! Always one step ahead of the game." Stella commented.

Her remark made little sense given the current topic and it was what stirred Aragorn to pick her up and tote her off to bed.

"Clearly my wife has overexerted herself." Aragorn explained earning a sharp slap on the chest from Stella.

"I am tired, very well take me to bed!" Stella commanded in a voice slightly larger than she intended.

The comment earned several pointed glances from the men that remained in the hall. Stella ignored these glances and wrapped herself around Aragorn. He picked her up as if she were a feather and strode away from the table they were congregated at. Stella did not have to look at his face to know he wore a ridiculous grin.

"You probably think you are going to get lucky tonight because we won, and just got over our first fight. Under normal circumstances you would be one hundred per cent correct. However, it's late and I worked very hard. Right now nothing sounds more appealing than a bubble bath and sleep. Sorry." She mumbled into his neck because she couldn't be bothered to raise her head to his ear.

She could feel his chest rumble with laughter.

"Stella, you are truly an amazing woman." He whispered.

There was no response. Stella had managed to lull herself into sleep. Aragorn debated waking her up but saw little point. He deposited her on the bed before joining her.

He attempted to sleep however he found himself replaying the words Stella had shouted at him before the battle. _'You wanted someone to boss around? Someone that will do exactly what you say because we shared a few kisses!' _Aragorn knew that he loved her and it wasn't about control. He regretted his words immediately after they left his mouth but could find no way to take them back. Then she apologised to _him_. Aragorn could barely form the next words out of his mouth when he heard it. He could not believe that his fighter had apologised. 'Why?' he thought briefly, 'she had never once apologised for her beliefs. Why now?' The thoughts stayed with him for most of the time Stella was sleeping. As soon as Stella showed signs of alertness Aragorn began asking her questions.

"Good morning." He whispered, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. "Stella, why did you apologise?" H e asked knowing that she would appreciate his straightforward manner of questions.

"Aragorn? Give me a minute to wake up, alright?" Stella mumbled, her voice still thick from sleep.

Stella stretched and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She sneezed once, twice, three times before turning to Aragorn.

"What was that you said? Why did I apologise, for what?" Stella's brow furrowed.

"You apologised, after we fought. I came to find you and you apologised to me. It seemed unlike you. I accepted it at the time but I have been thinking about it ever since." Aragorn elaborated.

He was unwilling to break eye contact as he saw her shift uncomfortably.

"Because we are married. I am your wife; we are in this for the long haul. I am going to do everything in my power to make sure this," she gestured between the two of them, "works. I don't think you understand just how seriously I take marriage. Back home there is this thing, called divorce, what it means is the end of a relationship." Stella explained in the simplest way she could.

"My father and mother were part of a religion that didn't allow for divorce. That is how they raised me. I was told from a very young age that the act of marriage was one taken before God and to break that relationship was sin. I was taught that a marriage required sacrifice, some give and take. If us making it as a couple means I have to give up something that I want. I can make that sacrifice." Stella took a deep breath.

"Stella, I love you. You are never going to lose me. Our relationship has seen so much and we are stronger for it. Never feel as if you have to sacrifice for what we have." Aragorn finally whispered.

"If you asked, I would give you the world for only a moment in your arms, to see your smile, and to know your love." Stella recited.

"What is that?"

"That was one of my father's wedding vows to my mother. He vowed to give her everything she asked for to make her happy." Stella smiled as she remembered the story. "My mother used to tell me the story before bed. I always romanticised the memory."

Aragorn smiled. He was at a loss for words. Stella had such differing accounts of her father. In some memories he was the reason for her tears in others she seemed almost wistful for the man Aragorn would never meet.

"I need a bath and so do you." Stella stated after some time.

She laughed at Aragorn's face as it surveyed her body taking in the blood that splattered her clothing.

"Hey you aren't much better!" Stella cried slapping his arm playfully.

Three hours later the bath basin was filled and Stella had sunk into the water allowing the warmth to massage away the aches of yesterday. She stayed there until the water turned too cold before she forced herself out of the tub and into the clean clothing Aragorn had somehow procured for her. She could barely make herself stand she was so tired. Suppressing a yawn she mentally prepared herself for the day. She knew there would be so much to do but she found little will to do it. As Stella contemplated her lack of will to do much of anything it suddenly dawned on her. Stella carefully recounted the days unsure of the exact day she knew she had to find someone that did.

She ran out of her room, flying down the hallways. 'It cant be. How could I have forgotten?' Stella silently asked herself as guilt and remorse filled her.

Finally she ran into a somewhat familiar face.

"Oh, Gimli, there you are!" Stella exclaimed. "I have a very important question for you. What day is it?" She looked into his eyes as the dwarf began laughing.

"Stella, of all the important questions in the world that is what you ask me?" he chucked before seeing the serious look on her face. "Right well, today is the fifteenth day of September. Why do you ask?"

"Tomorrow is William's birthday. It is the day he enlisted in the army." Stella almost whispered. "I can't believe I forgot." Tears started to well up in her eyes.

Gimli looked at a loss for how to comfort her. 'Buck up Maddox!' Stella chastised herself.

"Thank you, Gimli. I need to go make myself useful. I heard we are leaving this God forsaken wall. I for one will not be sad to leave this place." She plastered on a false grin and turned to leave. "Oh and Gimli," Stella called over her shoulder. "I believe it would be best if we kept this conversation to ourselves. Lord knows I don't need anybody asking me about it." Stella explained.

The dwarf looked at her as if he could not understand her words but finally nodded his head in agreement.

"Thank you." Stella whispered.

She continued to meander at a slightly more leisurely pace as she made her way to the main room. Everything was in disarray. Men and women moved about everywhere. Stella searched the room for Eowyn finally finding handing blankets to a woman. Stella waited for them to finish their conversation before greeting her friend.

"What in the world is going on here?" Stella questioned. "How long was I bathing for? I thought we weren't leaving until tomorrow?"

Eowyn laughed.

"Stella! Are you always the last to know everything?" She teased. "We are headed back, today." She explained. "Well most of us are. My Uncle, my brother, and my cousin are accompanying your fellowship to Isengard."

"I know that name." Stella whispered to herself.

"You should, Stella, that is the tower of Saruman, the white wizard." Eowyn could not believe the naïveté of her friend.

"That's right!" Stella remembered. "Sorry, back home I can barely read a map now people want me to forget about New York and Chicago and learn things like Isengard and Rivendell." Stella huffed to cover her embarrassment.

"Your grievances aside I need to get back to helping these people. Perhaps you should find your husband or brother to fill in the blanks." Stella's mouth dropped.

She had been dismissed. Eowyn never dismissed her. They were friends.

"Eowyn, did I do something to offend you?" Stella questioned. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to help." Stella guessed at tension that sprung between them.

"It is not that. I doubt very much I will ever see you again perhaps it would be best to take our leave here." Eowyn bit out.

It finally struck Stella. Eowyn was jealous.

"I can ask and see if you can come with us. I am sure it will be fine." Stella offered though she held little hope behind her words.

"Do not bother to ask your dear brother. I have begged enough for the both of us." Eowyn replied curtly.

"Why would you ask him? He can't tell you if you can come or not. Gandalf's your man. Forget Legolas, I really can't see why you went to him." Stella played dumb waiting for her friend to spill the beans.

"I just, he was the first person I saw." Eowyn stumbled over her words.

"Eowyn, I want the truth. What is happening between you and my brother? Tell me now or so help me God I will slap you." Her threat was weak but it was all she could think of in time. She never really was too quick on her feet with comebacks.

"Stella," Eowyn started in the same tone. "Honestly I have no idea what is happening. I was listening to him one day. He was singing this beautiful song in his language and he caught me staring. Since then, I don't know." She finally explained.

"Oh, honey, your smitten." Stella informed her taking on a deep southern accent. "Now you listen to me, ya hear? Go for him! Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Stella couldn't help it she loved playing matchmaker.

Eowyn grimaced.

"I don't know if that is the best path. I mean right now, things are hard, there is a war." Eowyn argued.

"Well I suppose then you will never know. You can live with that heart brake for the rest of your life. You know if elves are your thing there was another here. I think his name was Haldir, seemed nice enough. You could always go for him." Stella layered it on thick hoping to get a rise out of the young woman.

Eowyn turned her back on Stella and she took it as a sign to 'let sleeping dogs lie.'

The day passed quickly and the next morning Stella found herself on Ares II with Gimli clinging to her.

"Just loosen up on my side a little." She murmured to the dwarf. "I know it's scary but all you are doing is wasting energy and making it difficult for me to breathe. Here, put your hands on my hips." She placed Gimli's hands, "now see that you don't leave bruises." She instructed to the blushing dwarf.

"I don't believe it is appropriate for me to touch a married lady so intimately." He mumbled shooting a glance at Aragorn.

"Don't be silly. He likes me breathing so he likes your hands right were I have them. You do have a strong grip." She commented lightly. "I'll have to remember to keep the fine crystal our of your reach." Stella teased.

This comment spurred Gimli into a long-winded lecture about the lives of dwarves. Stella tuned him out for the most part, not because his tales weren't interesting but because her attention was drawn to Legolas. She slowly edged her horse towards the elf, whose attention was fixed on some wisp of a cloud.

"So you have been talking to Eowyn a lot lately?" Stella asked knowing the answer.

"Yes, she's a brave woman in a world of men." He commented lightly.

"That she is, but you know even brave women sometimes won't go after what they really want. Sometimes they need a friend to help them out a little." She suggested. "Hard to believe she's single, right?"

This comment drew Legolas' attention away from the sky and onto Stella.

"Where is this going?"

"Nowhere, I just think you should keep talking to her when we get back. You never know, she might get a friendly push to go after what she wants."

They rode in silence until they came up on a mound of rock with two figures perched atop it.

"Merry! Pippin! Get down hear! What do you two think you are doing? Smoking! I hope you saved me some I had my last cigarette like a week ago." Stella yammered at breakneck speed. "Oh! My boys!" Stella cried as she dismounted Ares II and ran to sweep them both up in a hug.

She embraced both of them kissing the tops of their heads.

"I missed you so much." She cried. "Gimli, get of my horse! I need to spend some quality time with my boys!" She hollered back at a grumpy Gimli.

With the group newly arranged, with Aragorn and Gimli sharing a horse, they started off again to the ominous tower that loomed over everything.

"I don't like that thing, it looks evil." Stella whispered to Merry who was in front of her.

He only nodded. Pippin spoke up.

"Well it was evil but now Treebeard is in charge. We are safe." He spoke confidently.

"Oh pippin I have missed you." Stella leaned back into him. "Things just weren't the same without you there to make me laugh. Besides I needed you to beat up my husband." She joked, ignoring the stunned faces of her small friends.

'Husband?' the hobbits mouthed to each other around Stella.

"Yes you little rascals! Husband only made official five days ago. Rather bizarre honeymoon if you ask me but he asked for it."

"Congratulations, Strider." Pippin called out earning a wave from Aragorn.

"Best wishes." Merry whispered to her in a knowing voice.

"I am going to need it!" Stella joked.


	26. Celebration Drinking

Stella had accepted a lot about this world she had found herself unceremoniously dropped in, however nothing could have prepared her for the giant, moving, talking, tree. She nearly fell off Ares as the creature turned to the group.

"Amazing." She whispered as she slowly dismounted her horse.

She failed to notice that no one else had reacted to the tree in the same way. She inched her way closer to the talking tree her arm slightly extended. She didn't stop until she felt the rough bark under her fingertips. Forgetting proper manners she grabbed on to a natural foothold near 'the things' base and hoisted herself up. She climbed the tree, ignoring the protests of the others that remained on their horses. Suddenly she felt a tug at the collar of her tunic and she was lifted into the air.

"Oh shit!" she exclaimed. "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" She cried in an attempt to get the thing to release her. "I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry! Do you think you could put me down if I promised never to do that again?" She asked frantically.

"If you wished to climb me, you need only ask." The tree responded in a gruff voice.

He placed her on a larger branch before returning to the conversation he was holding with Gandalf. Stella carefully stood on the branch before letting out a swift giggle. She had never seen the world from this perspective and she doubted she would ever get the opportunity to again. She tiptoed carefully across the branch and jumped to another gaining her confidence. Soon she was swinging freely from the branches with little care.

"I haven't had this much fun since I was little. Climbing trees was one of Will's favourite things to do when we were little." She laughed as she jumped to another branch.

"I am not a tree!" the tree exclaimed.

"You look like a tree to me." Stella stated.

"I, little girl, am an Ent." He explained.

"I am not a 'little girl'. An Ent? Like those things in that creepy forest? I thought that was just a funny term for_ ants_. Boy was I wrong!" She looked up at the Ent. "My bad."

She wrapped her arms and legs around the thick branch hanging upside down. The blood rushed to her head but she was to busy laughing to care much for her appearance.

"Look Ma, no hands!" She cried as she let go of the branch with her hands, swinging them over her head.

"Stella, come down this instant!" Gandalf commanded.

"Spoil sport." Stella murmured under breath.

She complied with the old wizards orders with a frown. As turned to the Ent she smiled.

"Thank you very much." She smiled sweetly, winking as she turned back to her horse.

She gained the stare of Legolas and Aragorn, giving both of them a noncommittal shrug she turned away from the two.

Suddenly there was a laugh that Stella could not pinpoint the location of. She determined that it was not one of group. She looked up and saw a creepy old man dressed in white.

"Funny how some people can't look good regardless of what they wear." Stella joked to the hobbits.

They did not respond, they looked petrified with fear.

"Calm down guys, he's up there and we are down here. What can he do?" he reasoned.

No sooner had the words left her mouth than flames came chasing after her. She let out an ear-piercing scream as she waited for the burning sensation to reach her nerves. But it never came. She looked up to see Gandalf holding up his staff combating the flames. There was a loud scream and the staff Saruman was holding exploded into dust.

"Oh Pops, I think I love you!" Stella laughed.

Her merriment was short lived as she saw the creep of a snake Grima. She wanted to be sick especially after she knew what he had tried to do to Eowyn. Stella heard Théoden attempt to reason with Grima.

"NO!" She yelled, "No, you know what he did! What he tried to do! How can you forgive him? She is your niece, your cousin, your sister!" Stella exclaimed.

She received a look to shut up from Gandalf and she reluctantly shut her mouth but she saw that Legolas had notched his bow and was aiming at the pair above them. There was a commotion above them and Stella looked up to see Grima raising a dagger behind Saruman. Before Stella knew it Grima had plunged the dagger into the man's back. Legolas took advantage of the commotion to shoot his arrow squarely into Grima's heart.

The man in white fell forward and onto a wooden spike. She body made a repulsive squishing sound as it impaled itself onto the spike.

"I need to get out of here. I think I'm gonna be sick." Stella whispered.

She was so preoccupied with her concern for her stomach she did not realize Pippin slip off the horse and into the water. The young hobbit moved forward slowly reaching out in the water. He pulled out a sphere of what looked like obsidian. The black rock glinted, tempting Pippin. Stella drew her attention to him when she saw the look of sheer desire etched in his face.

"Pip!" She yelled. "Come back here. I don't like the look of that thing."

"Yes. I believe it would be best if you gave that to me for now." Gandalf supplied as he held out a covered hand.

He was careful not to touch the sphere and Stella took note. 'Whatever that is, even Gandalf is afraid of it.' Stella shivered.

With Saruman dead the group made its way back to Edoras. They stopped infrequently as possible eager to share the news and celebrate their victory.

The night they returned to the city there was a celebration. Stella always loved parties and this one was no exception. This party was a bit different from the parties she had attended at college. Théoden gave a speech about the fallen where Stella had to remind herself that he was a king and rolling her eyes would be inappropriate. However as with most good parties there were copious amounts of alcohol available.

Stella smiled, she was no lightweight and the beer they were serving was not nearly as strong as the moonshine she had procured with one of her friends back home. She ran into Gimli, who was challenging Legolas to some sort of drinking game. Stella listened to the rules, which seemed to be shockingly few, and felt confident she could drink the dwarf under the table.

She sat herself down opposite Gimli and motioned for an ale.

"I bet I could drink you under the table." She exclaimed. "Care to try?"

The men that did not know her laughed, but the ones she had patched up said nothing unwilling to catch her bad side.

"Well that would hardly be fair to you. You are so young has an ale ever passed your lips?" Gimli called earing the attention of Aragorn who was coming over to see what Stella had gotten herself into.

"Suit yourself, if you are afraid you are going to lose, I suppose Legolas would be a fun drinking partner." Stella shrugged as she moved to get up from the table only to be stopped by his gruff hand on her shoulder.

"I have never turned down a challenge. I am not about to start now." Gimli raised his voice.

"That's' more like it! Now, someone, give me an ale!" Stella shouted with a laugh as a pint of amber liquid was placed in front of her.

She picked up the mug and raised it to her nose, the smell of hops made her smile.

"Bottoms up!" She called.

Tilting her head back she poured the cool liquid down her throat. Without halting to breathe she placed the empty mug down in front of her only seconds before Gimli.

"HA! I win!" Stella fist pumped the air before leaning over to Aragorn and planting a wet kiss on his cheek. "Another for the poor dwarf!" She cried earning a glare from Gimli and chuckles around the table.

The night continued in a similar fashion, Stella repeatedly beating Gimli in his little drinking game.

"How?" The dwarf finally asked.

"I'm a college student, heavy drinking and sleeping in are pretty much the job description. Besides the ABV of this stuff is was lower than most of what I drink at home."

"I am confused by words but I want to visit your home." Gimli slurred.

Stella let out a loud laugh wrapping her arms tighter around Aragorn she half whispered.

"I am very drunk and if you took me to our room right now there is a pretty good chance you will get very lucky."

She had noticed that his drinking had kept pace with hers. Aragorn's smile perked up when he heard his drunken wife's whisper. He swiftly helped her up with both of them stumbling slightly as they stood. Stella's lips planted squarely on Aragorn's neck, they made their way out of the hall and into their room.

Her hands roamed his upper body as she attempted to remove his shirt without breaking contact. Finally realising that it was impossible, Stella removed her mouth from his for a moment to lift his shirt off.

"Happy honeymoon sweetheart." She whispered before she attacked his mouth again.


	27. Explanations and Consequences

Hours later the commotion had died down and most partygoers had found themselves a comfortable resting place. Stella was wide-awake as she lay in her husband's arms. It took her several minutes to realise that Aragorn was awake as well. She allowed her hand to slip across his stomach and down lower along his thigh. Using the pads of her fingers she gently tickled the man into opening his eyes. He jerked back at the feeling and his eyes sprung open.

"Why do you act as if you are asleep when you know I can tell you are awake?" She asked innocently.

"No one else can tell when I am asleep or not. Only you." He whispered.

"How many have you let sleep as close to you as I do? No one else can tell because no one else has been as close, at least not for sleeping purposes." She winked. "But we are both up now and I believe there was something you wanted to ask me." She paused, waiting for him to ask the inevitable.

"You always know." He whispered, placing a small kiss on her forehead. "Will you tell me about your behaviour when we went to Isengard? With Treebeard, you seemed so happy. It was a look I have never seen on you before. You looked so young." He sighed as she softly caressed her loose hair.

"It was William's birthday." Stella supplied as an answer. "He joined the army six years ago. It just made me think that I have been living this life ever since I lost him; I grew up quickly because that is what my family needed from me. Climbing a tree, acting like I was young and carefree, I lost all of that. I was fourteen years old! I should have been worried about homecoming and midterms, not losing my brother." She could not help the tears that escaped her eyes.

"Why did you not tell me about your brother?" He asked wiping a tear that landed on her cheek.

"Because there were a million other things to worry about. Me, overreacting because of a silly date was not nearly as important." She whispered.

The amount of alcohol she had imbued earlier that evening loosened her tongue and caused her to speak without thought.

"I wanted to prove myself. I don't want that for our children. Can you promise me that they will never have to see war, pain, or loss? Can you promise me that they will never have to feel as if they old beyond their years?" Stella begged.

"No, I cannot promise any of that, but I can promise that any child of ours would be loved and protected. Is that not enough?" Aragorn looked upset as he asked the question.

"It is more than enough." Stella suddenly smiled. "You know I have been thinking about children. I think five is a good number." She grinned at Aragorn, remembering his proposal. "I want a little girl, but she can't be the oldest. Well I suppose she could be the oldest if that was how it worked out but I really think the benefits of having an older brother are quite nice from a parental standpoint. I mean no older brother worth a damn lets a boy near his little sister." She let out a harsh laugh. "Brandon didn't ask me out until William left. I wonder what he would say about you."

"He might hate me for stealing his baby sister's innocence." Aragorn laughed. "I agree an older brother would be nice."

He smiled as images of a very pregnant Stella filled his mind, pictures of their son siling as he was cradled in his mother's arms, visions of their daughter smiling up at him. He could not stop the tear that formed in the corner of his left eye.

"Aragorn? Are you crying?" Stella started to laugh but immediately stopped when she realised just how serious the situation had become. "Let's talk of something else." She suggested.

"Alright, I have another question for you." He stated with a smile. "Your name, what does it mean? I have been wondering that since I met you."

Stella could not contain her laugher.

"My name? It's just a name. I mean where I am from names don't typically mean much. I know that Stella means star but I don't think my parents named me that because it means anything. I think it was a compromise with my grandmother to be honest."

"Your grandmother?" He asked, pleased that he was able to distract her.

"Yeah, she wanted to name me Estelle. It means star as well and apparently it is very popular in her country, but my parents didn't like it I suppose. If I am entirely honest I like Estelle better. My parents told me that story when I was six and for three weeks after that I would only respond to Estelle." She laughed. "My middle name translates to Christmas, I kind of like that one. Those are my names, not really anything special."

Aragorn's eyes had widened as she explained her first name but remained silent. Nodding slowly as she finished her story.

"Star, why a star?" He asked quietly.

"According to my father? The stars come closer to God than a human could ever imagine. Personally I think my grandmother knew I had the personality type to be the next Marilyn." She laughed.

The couple relaxed against each other when they heard a loud noise coming from across the hall. Stella sprang up immediately remembering the last time she had heard screams in the dead of night. She had nothing then she would be damned if she made the same mistake twice. Stella rushed out of bed and grabbed for the nearest article of clothing. Slipping the fabric over her head she realised it easily covered her and she ran out of the room desperate to find the source of the yelling.

She entered the room at the same time Legolas entered followed shortly by Eowyn. Aragorn came running in last he observed the scene.

Pippin was holding that same black orb and was screaming his head off. Merry was in the corner yelling at Pippin. Aragorn strode forward at the same time Stella moved forward to stop Pippin's flailing. As Stella wrapped her hands around Pippin's upper arms she took her left leg and hooked it around the hobbits foot kicking his feet off the ground. The entwined pair fell backwards onto one of the many sleeping mats that littered the floor.

Aragorn grabbed the orb that had seemingly glued itself to Pippin's hands. And with Legolas' help he forced the orb out of Pippin's hands and onto the floor where Gandalf scooped it up again covering from view.

Pippin looked shaken as he realised what had happened. His face drained of colour and he curled into Stella, clinging close to her.

"Fool of a Took!" Gandalf cried earning a glare from Stella.

"Hush, hush, it is going to be alright." She comforted the scared hobbit. "Tell us what happened. It's going to be all better." She whispered, rubbing circles on his back.

Slowly Pippin looked up, he trembled as he saw Gandalf's furious face.

"I saw a burning tree in a court yard. Everything was on fire." He whispered in a shaking voice. "I heard the voice, but I swear I told him nothing. I promise, I am so sorry." He cried, turning back to Stella burring his face into her shoulder again.

From the look on Gandalf's face she could tell he believed Pippin. Finally Pippin raised his head and looked down at Stella.

"Stella? What are you wearing?" He finally asked.

"I think this is Aragorn's shirt." She answered. "I would be wearing more but your screaming caught me off guard."

Pippin looked up turning the colour of a tomato before looking at Aragorn. The hobbit immediately jumped up scrambling to get away from her. "I'm sorry, truly I am sorry." He muttered.

Stella laughed.

"No worries. I'm just glad you are safe." Stella got up and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before moving to stand next to Aragorn. "We need to put clothes on." She whispered to him.

He nodded and they made their way back to their room.

"Are you okay? That orb thing didn't hurt you, right?" She asked.

Slowly he nodded.

"I am fine. I worry only for Pippin." He whispered.

"He is much stronger than people give him credit for. I am sure he will be fine." Stella stated with a confidence she did not feel. "What was that place he was talking about? The white tree?" Stella asked silently cursing herself for knowing next to nothing of this world she was living in.

"It is a city, called Minas Tirith. It is the white city, the capital of Gondor." He whispered.

"Boromir spoke of a 'white city' often. Is that the same one? He always spoke of it with such fondness." Stella remembered.

"It is the same one." Aragorn answered briefly.

"Aragorn! Stop! Stop fearing everything without reason. And before you can say that there is some sort of twisted reason I would just like to remind you that you are not your ancestors. You don't have to be like them!" Stella yelled.

"That is the problem Stella. I am like them! I felt the draw of the ring. I felt its draw." Aragorn roared.

"You don't think I knew that?" She cried, "You don't think it affected me as well? As if I did not crave the power? The difference is that we were both overcame that! We didn't fall into its trap. That makes us better! Stronger!" She took a gulp of air. "Everybody wants power. Acting like you don't only makes you look like a coward. Man up or get out!" She stated before storming out of the room.

She ran out until she finally made it to a balcony. She let the door fall closed behind her before she let out the loudest scream she could muster. Without thinking she turned and aimed a kick at the solid door. Pain radiated through her foot. Her face scrunched in pain.

"God Damn it! Way to go Stella, break your foot!" She chastised herself.

"Care to talk about whatever is making you so mad?" Came a level headed voice.

"Legolas! Contrary to popular belief I don't like to talk about everything." Stella answered. "Besides shouldn't you be with Eowyn?"

She saw the sun begin to come over the mountains. It was beautiful and cast everything in a red glow.

"We were talking. She needed to get sleep so I came out here to look at the stars." He explained.

_"Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly, to be fearful of the night."_ Stella murmured.

"What is that?" Legolas asked.

"You have perfect hearing don't act as if you did not hear me." Stella commented lightly. "It is a part of a poem my mother used to read to me. I can't remember much of it but that one line, it always stuck with me." She shrugged. "Do you think you could help me with my foot? I don't want to complain because I did this to myself but I think I might have broken my foot." She winced as she attempted to remove her boot.

"Here, stop messing with it." Legolas told her sternly.

He carefully removed her boot earning a slue of profanities from Stella. He poked at the toes and earned a growl sound from Stella.

"Please stop touching it!" she cried as Legolas experimentally wiggled her baby toe.

"Stella I don't think you broke anything." Legolas finally stated, looking up at her.

"But look have you ever seen toes that blue and swollen? That's not normal." Stella complained.

"Well I did not say you did not hurt yourself. Why were you so mad?" He asked again.

"Just a lovers spat dear nothing to worry about." Stella held her head up refusing to show how angry the topic made her.

"About what, if I may ask?" He probed again.

"What else, that he is running from his future and won't accept that he is different from the men that came before him. I keep trying to tell him that craving power is natural, what sets us apart is our ability to control our cravings. At this point I don't even care if he accepts this whole king thing I just want him to understand that he isn't cursed because of some guy in the past making a poor decision." She sighed. "I suppose I didn't really make my point."

Legolas only nodded.

"Ouch! What are you doing?" She yelled as She poked at her foot again.

"Checking to make sure you can walk. I don't think you can." He stated, still looking at her foot.

"Are you crazy? Of course I can walk! Here, let me show you." She pulled her foot out of his grasp and placed a fraction of her weight on it. Her eyes filled with tears and her face scrunched up again. She took several small steps towards the door and turned around to face him. "Well I won't be doing a waltz anytime soon but I will be able to walk. Besides I was never very fond of that dance." She giggled.

Legolas nodded.

"Either way allow me to help you walk back to the hall. I do believe Gandalf wanted to speak to all of us and Théoden about the incident and Minas Tirith."

The pair slowly made their way to the large open hall where the rest of their party already stood about talking. Stella hobbled her way over to Merry and Pippin who were both looking a little worse for wear. She gave Pippin an encouraging squeeze before she leaned back against the wall.

Stella heard Gandalf explaining that Sauron now knows that the son of Elendur had 'returned' and she could not repress the snort that came out of her.

"I don't know, has he?" She asked with a raised eyebrow in Aragorn's direction.

"Now is not the time for petty arguments. I must ride to Minas Tirith and Pippin will be accompanying me. We will light the beacons of Gondor. Rohan must ne ready for war." Gandalf stated with an air of finality.

All eyes fell on Théoden as he grumbled about how no one was there to aide Rohan.

"What do we owe a people that would not risk helping us in our time of need?" He asked expecting no response.

Stella rolled her eyes.

"I would be shocked by such selfishness if I had not seen it so often from you before." She stated. "People that talk that way very often find themselves alone in the world and if there is one thing I have learned here it is that being alone hardly ever works out in anyone's favour."

"I do not believe I asked for your insight little girl." Théoden snapped at her.

"I am not a little girl." Stella fumed. "You know back home we had this leader, a king of sorts, and do you know what he told my people? He told us not to ask what our country can do for us but what we can do for our country. Now the way I see it the same idea applies. This isn't about you; this is so much greater than you! This is for your world! Doesn't that sink in even a little?" She asked indignantly.

"Ugh Men!" she finally grumbled before gesturing to Legolas. "Do you think you can take me away from their incessant bickering? I cannot walk any further. Pippin, Merry why don't you come with me?" She offered as Legolas scooped her of her feet and carried her out of the room.

The group made their way to Stella and Aragorn's room and Legolas set her down gently on the bed.

"Thank you." Stella murmured. "Now Merry, Pippin we have been away for a very long time and I want to catch up with both of you." She clapped her hands.

Legolas made himself comfortable on the nearby chair looking at his adoptive sister with a fond gaze. She smiled and laughed as she heard of her friend's adventures and as she told them of her own. A natural pause came in their conversation and Pippin looked up anxiously.

"Spit it out Pip! No judgements." Stella laughed.

"I know we promised not to speak of it again, but that music box you showed us. I cannot get it off my mind. I think about how it works and the sounds it makes. I have never heard the songs it played. Can't you please show us again just once?" He pleaded.

"If it were that easy, Pip, you know I would. But the thing doesn't work anymore. I'm sorry." She apologised.

"Can you sing us a song then?" Merry asked.

"You really don't want me to sing." Stella argued but was immediately shut down by the hobbits. Even Legolas encouraged her to sing a song. "Fine but you asked for it. I can't hold a tune to save my life. I don't know very many songs that I can sing. I know one but it's not really what I listen to on a normal basis." Stella continued to yammer.

"Just sing already." Merry exclaimed looking excited.

Stella took a deep breath awaiting the oncoming ridicule her singing would earn her.

_"As I went down in the river to pray._ _Studying about that good ol' way_. _And who shall wear the robe & crown?_ _Good Lord show me the way_

_O brothers let's go down. Let's go down, come on down. Come on brothers, let's go down. Down in the river to pray_

_As I went down in the river to pray. Studying about that good ol' way. And who shall wear the starry crown? Good Lord show me the way_

_O fathers let's go down. Let's go down, come on down. O fathers let's go down. Down in the river to pray_

_As I went down in the river to pray. Studying about that good ol' way. And who shall wear the robe and crown? Good Lord show me the way_

_O mothers let's go down. Come on down, don't you wanna go down? Come on mothers, let's go down. Down in the river to pray_

_As I went down in the river to pray. Studying about that good ol' way. And who shall wear the starry crown? Good Lord show me the way"_

She finished and flopped back down on the bed. Her face was flushed as she realized the last time she had heard that song.

"I learned that song when I was eleven years old. My class sang it in the winter talent show. I was so jealous because Kat's class learned yellow submarine and we learned that." She explained. "But it all ended up alright because Mathew Green got sick all over the stage when they were preforming. Oh sweet justice." She laughed. "We won."

"Those lyrics, what do they mean?" Legolas asked.

"Do things always have to mean something?" Stella responded.

"Most things do." The elf justified.

"Well I think this song is about finding the right person to rule these people. See back home kings were supposed to have been chosen by God as his conduit of sorts. Now that idea might have failed miserably but I think the song is about choosing the right guy for the job, someone that could be both heavenly as well as royalty." Stella shrugged unsure of her analysis now that she voiced it. "That's just my opinion."

"It was beautiful." Pippin finally said and Merry simply nodded his head in agreement.

"Thanks guys."

"It was something interesting." Came Aragorn's voice from the doorway.

"You heard it?" Stella questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, and I think you are to harsh about your voice." He whispered. "An agreement has been reached. Merry and Pippin will be traveling with Gandalf to Minas Tirith. Legolas, Gimli, Stella, and myself will be heading for the city from a different direction." He explained.

Stella nodded.

"Sounds good." Stella agreed. "You guys better go get ready. Pippin, stop worrying from everything Gandalf said you acted very bravely." She comforted him.

The two hobbits nodded and excused themselves with Legolas hot on their heels. Suddenly the couple was alone.

"Why could you not walk?" Aragorn asked.

"I can walk I just can't walk fast. I kicked a door." She explained turning red as she admitted her stupidity.

"Why?"

"Because it was there and I was pissed. I wanted a fight so I found one with the door. Guess who won?" She snipped sarcastically.

"All because I don't want to be king?"

"No, because you fear things that hold little weight. When you get right down to it we are the same. We both want power, everyone does, but we can control it. That means that you succeeded where so many others have failed. Can't you see that? I don't care if you are a king or a street performer, I just want you to stop running from a future that is created purely from your own fear."

Aragorn looked unconvinced.

"You know what, I get it. I'm not going to say anything more about it. I trust you will make the right decision in the end. You don't need your nagging wife to tell you what to do." Stella stated.

"Thank you. And I am sorry about your foot."

"Forget about it. Next time I am going to aim for something softer." She laughed.

Three hours later Pippin, Merry, and Gandalf had said their goodbyes and Stella could hear Gandalf and Merry yelling at Pippin for his curiosity.


	28. Stowaway's Warrior

Stella was angry however she found herself at a loss to express that anger; instead she paced around a lot. Frequently at night she would find herself wide awake and start wandering aimlessly through the buildings. Her foot ached but as Legolas had predicted it was not broken. On her second evening of just walking around at night she heard a small noise from the corner of the room she had just walked into.

"Who's there?" she called into the darkness. "Show yourself!" she commanded attempting to cover her terror.

"Stella? It's me, Merry." The voice called.

"Merry? What are you doing here?" she asked still searching for the body that matched the voice. "You are supposed to be on your way to Minas Tirith with Gandalf." She stated the obvious, her brain taking longer to process events that she wished.

"I was, yes, but at the last minute Gandalf told me I should stay here but not to tell anyone that I had stayed. I think he thought someone would be upset if I stayed. I do not really know but I am glad you found me." He explained.

"Right. Okay, so we need to get you a place to sleep and we should tell someone you are here. Right?" Stella was unsure of her actions.

"Right." Merry agreed almost instantly.

The two made their way back out into the main hall and sown a corridor to Stella's room.

"It would probably be best if you were to stay out here." Stella reasoned. "I think I might have some idea as to why Gandalf told you to stay here."

She walked into her room and shut the door behind her.

"Aragorn! Aragorn!" she whispered, leaning over to shake his shoulder. "Aragorn there is something you need to see! Wake up!"

The man jolted from the bed grabbing for his sword that lay on the table near the bed.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked franticly.

"Nothing, nothing. I am sorry I shocked you. It's just, well, it appears that Gandalf did not agree with the agreement you talked about, the one where Pippin and Merry left with him. Yeah, someone is here now that, according to you, shouldn't be. Get dressed." She soothed him rubbing his back gently.

Aragorn swiftly got up and dressed looking pointedly at Stella for her to explain. Instead of speaking Stella simply stood up and opened the door revealing Merry leaning against the opposite wall.

"Hello." Merry waved.

"Well I suppose this explains why he was so eager to do as I asked." Aragorn muttered to himself.

"What's going on?" Stella asked. "What did you ask of Gandalf?"

"I attempted to reason with him that Pippin should not be separated from Merry, that they make a good pair. I thought he agreed with me after her heard my reasoning." Aragorn muttered to himself again.

"Why? That makes absolutely no sense! Pippin can more than handle himself. And while I might like the idea of them traveling together for safety's sake I highly doubt it is necessary if Gandalf is there." Stella was lost.

Aragorn threw her an incredulous look, which she returned.

"I did it for you! For the exact reason you just said! I figured you would feel safer knowing that Gandalf protected them both. I thought it would make you happy." He was angry but he was containing it well.

Stella was shocked. She opened her mouth to say something but found the words lost on her tongue. He must have understood at some level just how nervous she had been for her friends. He wanted to save her worry. Suddenly she broke into a smile.

"Now clearly that plan did not work." Aragorn looked down at the hobbit. "Merry, perhaps it would be best if you found a place to sleep, we do not know what tomorrow holds." Aragorn stated.

Merry nodded his head in agreement and padded back down the hall. Before turning back and rushing over to Stella.

"Thank you." He whispered "For worrying about us, for wanting to protect us."

"You are my friends. I am always going to be there to protect my friends." Stella stated. "You are destined for many things Merry. How can a soul as good as your not be?" She laughed. "And that is how I know I need sleep! When I start talking about destiny and making predictions about the future, that is a pretty good indicator that I am tired."

The hobbit smiled at her joke and turned to leave again. Stella let out a long sigh before turning to Aragorn and smiling again.

"That was very sweet of you, and don't act like it wasn't a big deal because it was." She placed a small kiss on his cheek. "Now I really do need to get to bed. I wasn't kidding when I said that was a good indicator that I was tired. One time I stayed I stayed up all night to finish a paper I was writing for class and by the time class rolled around I was yammering about the destiny and fate of Czar Nicholas II."

"Czar Nicholas? Did you know this man?" Aragorn asked.

"Um, no, he was a bit before my time. Besides, when he was alive, he lived very far away and he was a king so he wasn't going to be talking to me any time soon. Anyways, long story short, no, I didn't know him. I read about him, he is the subject of many books."

Aragorn nodded.

"You know a lot about kings." He stated.

"Well that is what I was going to school for. Not just kings but lots of other things as well. I was going to study politics. Which basically means I was going to understand why kings think the way they do. Only we usually don't call them kings anymore. I'm sorry I'm not making a whole lot of sense right now."

"That is okay I enjoy hearing you speak of your home it is so different from here." Aragorn assured her. "If you don't call your rulers kings what do you call them?"

"Well there are lots of names. Where I am from there are Presidents but in other places there are Prime Ministers and even in places where there is a monarchy it usually isn't just one guy, or gal, calling the shots. Can I go to bed now?" Stella almost whined.

"Yes, yes, I never intended to keep you up." Aragorn apologised.

But his apologies were lost on Stella as she drifted into sleep.

Her dreams were marred with images of a crystal tree that reflected light to make it appear as if it was glowing. It was beautiful, in the dream she became so enthralled with the tree that she stuck her hand out to feel the bark. It was smooth, for some reason it felt wrong. Trees were supposed to be rough, flawed, twisted in some odd direction, this tree was prefect, unnaturally cool to the touch, and carried an inexplicable sadness.

Stella woke with a jolt. She was almost in tears, a cool sweat beading down her forehead. Looking around she saw that she was alone and for one was pleased by that fact. The last thing she needed was Aragorn dogging her about why.

'It seems as if all I do is explain myself, explain my home.' She thought. Stella considered herself an incredibly tolerant woman. She had taken the time to answer everyone's questions even though her own were frequently left unanswered. She had a conversation with Legolas only two days ago where he had asked about a car's purpose five times. She had finally given up after he remained confused by her description of a cart made to move without a horse.

"Fine!" She had exclaimed. "You are not going to understand it from now on I promise not to use that word I will say something you are familiar with, I promise. No more talk of cars or television or Britney Spears I promise."

"I just do not understand, what did she do again?" he had laughed at her obvious annoyance.

She laughed now at her annoyance by the conversation. She had resigned herself never to talk about things that only confused people. She had a feeling that instead of her dream simply being a nightmare caused by Pippin's vision it would become a sign of something incredibly ominous.

Shaking off the last memories of the dream she decided to focus on other things. She wandered off to find someone, just as she walked out of the door she ran into Eowyn.

"Oh thank goodness I found you! I wanted to ask if I could borrow a dress from you. I need to wash these," She plucked at the dirty clothes. "Not to mention I need a bath."

"Hello Stella. Yes, I have something you can borrow. You take a lot of baths." She smiled at her friend.

"You try traveling for five months without a bath and see how many you take. I feel like once we leave here I may not get another for a while." She explained with a laugh.

Eowyn came back twenty minutes later with the dress and Stella dragged her into the room.

"We need to have a girl's day. Tell me, all about you and my brother. What's happened? Come on spill." Stella early squealed as she disrobed and stepped into the bath.

"Stella it would never work. We are two very different people from two very different worlds." Eowyn protested.

"So? I mean look at Aragorn and I. I am literally from another world and we have made it work. Now that's not to say that we don't have our issues but that's what makes us work." Stella encouraged her.

"Stella, the age difference alone is far to great. Besides he would far out live me, I cannot ask that of him."

"Of course you can! Do you know how old Aragorn is? I asked him when I first met him, he's eighty-seven! I mean talk about an age difference. I'm twenty years old! That makes almost a sixty-year difference. And from everything he has told me he is going to way out live me. I know it's not the same but still we talked about it and came to the conclusion that our love was worth it. Besides it's not like you love him, right?"

Eowyn looked shocked by Stella's harsh words.

"How can you speak so casually of death?" She whispered.

"Don't change the subject. You don't love him, right?" She asked again.

Eowyn looked down messing with something in her hand.

"Answer me right now! Do you love my brother?" She demanded.

"Yes." She whispered finally. "I think I do and I shouldn't." Eowyn finally looked up with her face see in determination. "There are other things that I need to think about. I cannot fall in love with someone I only just met."

"It sounds like you don't really have a choice, you are just along for the ride here. Eowyn, falling in love isn't a bad thing, it's a great thing, and it makes us stronger. It gives us something to fight for! If that's how you feel you have to tell him. You know how all men can be so incredibly hard headed; he is probably oblivious to your feelings." Stella was determined to have this relationship work. The both of them deserved something for all of this turmoil.

Stella rose quickly from the bath and dressed in the dress Eowyn had brought her. It was still itchy however it was looser than some of the garments she had seen on some of the women here.

The women had just settled back down to continue talking of nothing when they heard a yell coming down the hallway. They rushed to see the commotion and saw a breathless Aragorn explaining that some beacon had been lit.

'Shit, this is what Gandalf was talking about. I can't believe this guy is just going to sit on his ass and not help them.' She thought to herself. The words out of Théoden's mouth shocked her to her core. Rohan was going to answer the call for help. Her eyes bugged half way out of her head.

"Hang on a moment! What happened to 'why should we aide those that do not aide us'?" she called out.

"Ask not what your country can do for you but rather what you can do for your county, Lady Stella. It is time to make a stand" He smiled at her.

She grinned back at him triumphantly.

"Wise words."

Suddenly everyone was moving there was chaos and Stella was left with nothing to do. She looked down and groaned. 'I would pick today to wear a dress and I am absolutely positive my clothes will not dry in time.' She worried but moved back to her room looking for things to take with her. 'Wet pants and a few daggers.' She sighed.

Getting ready took all of five minutes. Her wet clothes were stuffed at the bottom of her bag with her knife and lighter resting on the top. She was milling around the stables looking for someone to help when she ran into Eowyn saddling a horse.

"Here let me help." Stella leaned over taking the blanket from Eowyn's hands. "Hang on, is this your horse?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Well than what is this?" Stella asked grabbing the sword strapped to the horse's side. "It's a pretty large envelope opener."

"For very large letters." Her friend quipped earning a chuckle from Stella. "I told you once before, I am going to protect my people."

"Well than I will help you. I will not stop you; I only ask that you keep yourself safe. Please?" She begged.

Eowyn only nodded with a small smile before turning back to her horse. The two women walked out together with their horses traveling behind them. Aragorn came up behind them as they were talking.

"Are you traveling with us?" he asked not unkindly.

"Yes, it is tradition." Eowyn explained refusing to make eye contact with him.

Stella saw Aragorn's hand reach in the direction of the concealed sword.

"Sweetheart? Honey, Can you help my up on this horse? I seem to have hurt my foot rather badly." Stella blurted unable to think of another excuse to stop her husband from finding the weapon.

Aragorn looked confused but assisted her onto her horse. Stella shot a warning look at Eowyn.

"I know you are not telling me something." He whispered into her ear.

Stella smiled and nodded unable to keep a secret from him.

"If it becomes pertinent you will be the first I inform." She assured him. "Until then it is best to let sleeping dogs lie."

As they left the city Stella could only hope that her newest friend would be safe as she fought to protect her people.


	29. Soldiers and Kings

"So you are staying at the encampment, right?"

Stella's head whipped around to look at Eowyn. She almost couldn't believe the words had just escaped her mouth.

"What? No, why do you think that?" Stella demanded turning her shocked look to Aragorn.

"You are married. I believe it is safe to assume that you have been participating in marital relations? Putting yourself in risk would be selfish, just in case." The blonde reasoned.

Stella barely stifled a laugh. Eowyn was always so to the point, almost to a fault. 'Of course people would think I would be pregnant within the month.' She rolled her eyes. She didn't blame the people for thinking that way, it was obviously a very real fear for many women, but Stella had never thought it applied to herself.

"Yes, Eowyn, it is safe to assume I have been participating in 'marital relations.' But I don't have to worry about pregnancy, at least not for another two years. I am perfectly safe to accompany my friends." Stella explained.

Aragorn's head shifted in her direction as she explained. He had been unaware of her inability to become pregnant and had been thinking the same thing as Eowyn but had been reluctant to bring it up.

"What do you mean you don't have to worry? Every woman needs to worry." Eowyn argued.

"Not me. After Liz's attack I took a medicine that stops me from getting pregnant. I lived in fear of any man coming so close as to give me a hug so I took measures to make myself feel safer. That way if I were to ever be assaulted, it would be awful but I wouldn't have to have the bastard's baby." Stella shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I want a baby but up until recently the plan was to wait until I had graduated school and found a job and made enough money to settle down in the countryside. 'Having babes is an expensive sport.' My grandmother used to say that whenever she saw me."

"What kind of medicine is this? It sounds like magic." Eowyn asked sounding envious.

"Magic? Devilry? I guess it all depends on which party you agree with."

"Party?" Aragorn asked.

"Yes there are these people that believe that women should not use the medicine. They say that it is a sin against God not to have his children. They call themselves a party."

"Who? Who would say that?"

"My father for one." Stella stated leaving the statement to hang there like a lead balloon. She nudged Ares to move faster.

Egging the horse into a gallop she moved ahead of most of the travellers. She waved at several of the men she passed. She noticed most of them from one point or another. Some waved amused by her light-hearted smile that disguised her sadness.

"Hey boys, watch this!" She called earning most of their attention.

Without pausing to think she threw her right leg over the saddle, thankful that she had found a pair of trousers that fit her, she let both of her legs drag on the left side of the horse before hopping up and sliding back into the saddle and doing the same thing on the other side. Her actions were met with applause and cheering causing her to continue, gaining confidence with each trick she performed. At one point she found herself facing backwards and made silly faces at the weary travellers.

She flipped herself around and looked forward seeing a large tree lying across her path. It would have been easy to simply go around it as the rest of the travellers were doing however she found an incredible urge to jump. She tugged on the reins. It was as if Ares had read her mind, he knew exactly what she wanted to have happen before it happened. Ares well cleared the log and landed on the opposite side. Stella clapped him on the neck, turning to see the rest of the group staring at her. She smiled a broad grin and turned back to the road. She knew some people knew that she had ridden horses since she was six but very few knew her actual talents.

She was out of breath but the energy she exerted attempting to control her breathing took time away from her thinking about her father. As much as they fought there were still moments that she missed him. More than her father she missed her mother, the over bearing personality that always aimed to please. She missed everyone though she tried her best to hide it. She was even starting to miss knitting that stupid hat.

She dismounted her horse and waited for Eowyn to come to her. As her blonde friend was in hearing distance Stella called to her.

"I miss my home. I think you would have liked it." Stella stated. "It is very different from this place, not all for the better but it is different. I mean there are wars and evil and all that, and discerning between good and bad is a heck of a lot harder, but for some reason I can't shake the idea that you would be a pretty good fit. Strong women, my home can always use another of those." She laughed.

"What do you miss most about home?" Eowyn asked, her voice had turned soft as if she were talking to a child.

"Honestly? I miss so much. I miss music, I miss my bed, but the thing I miss the most is my mom. The last time I spoke to her we didn't agree on my path. She wanted me to finish my education and get a job but I wasn't happy so I wanted to come home. I thought I had convinced her that me coming home was going to be a good thing, but the morning before I left with Aragorn she called. We got into a fight about finding a job and my father. The last thing I told her was to stay away from me. I bet she thinks I hate her. It's funny, I'm so used to arguing with my father that at some level it just stops sinking in. With Mom, it's different we never fight."

"You just left?"

"Yeah, I did. I lost my brother, my boyfriend, I hated school, I had destroyed my relationship with my father, emotionally I was so dead there was nothing holding me home anymore. So I left."

"Maybe this is what you needed. You speak of being happy, do you find your happiness here?" Eowyn asked.

"Most of the time, yes, I am happy and I wasn't at home so this is better. I just sometimes miss what I had."

"We all miss what we used to have."

The two women continued on in silence until night was on the approach.

The encampment Eowyn was talking about had built up in Stella's mind. She had envisioned some sort of permanent settlement so she was understandably discouraged when all she saw before her was grass and rock. It was situated on a ledge of a mountain and Stella could not suppress a sigh. 'There go my hopes of a soft bed.' She thought as she saw men unpacking tents and lugging equipment.

Stella was exhausted from traveling from traveling and though she would never admit it her bum was becoming sore from the constant jostle of the saddle. She was used to working on a horse every day but in short burst of time, with breaks for food and work and school.

For once she was thankful that there was nothing expected of her. She just wanted to find a quite place to curl up and go to sleep. However life, apparently, had other plans for Stella. Eowyn was asking her to help prepare food for the troops and Stella was artfully excusing herself from coming anywhere close to the things that people were going to eat when several of the horses became restless and tugging on their reigns. Even Ares was acting up, Stella went over to sooth him but her attempts were futile.

She was confused; she had never seen horses act this way without some sort of outside threat.

"What the hell is wrong with them?" She cried as several others came to her aide in calming the horses.

Eomer turned to Legolas and responded.

"It is the mountain. They are nervous for good reason! That mountain is evil." He whispered ominously.

"Hey buddy! I was asking the question, I would much appreciate it if you responded to me." Stella yelled. "Perhaps I need to take you to the mat again to show you just who you are messing with."

Eomer laughed as he sized up Stella.

"One lucky swing hardly qualifies as a victory." He sneered.

"That's it. Come here and say that to my face you big brute! Put your money where your mouth is!" She fumed.

She raised her fists and hade a beckoning motion with her hands.

"Stella, Stella! Stop this. It is silly to fight with friends." Legolas interrupted attempting to defuse the situation that had caught many peoples attention.

"No! He obviously doesn't see us as equals so I am going to prove that we are. Right here, right now." She argued lunging for the man that gazed on furious at her claims.

"I will not fight a lady!" he proclaimed before turning around and making to leave.

"Why, you self righteous piece of - " lacking the words to identify him she picked up an orb of manure and lobbed it at the back of his head. "Don't walk away from me when I am talking to you, it's rude!"

Eomer turned back, his eyes spoke a greater anger than his words could ever convey.

"What did you just throw at me?"

"I would have thought you would be better acquainted with your kinsmen." She taunted. "Now are you going to let me prove to all of these nice soldiers that I can take you or would you rather let their imagination dig your grave?"

Aragorn strode over, stepping in between the two.

"What is the matter?" he asked in a calm voice.

Stella was the only one that composed herself enough to answer, Eomer was still glowering.

"Just measuring dicks." She smiled crudely. "I'm winning. Now step aside and let me fight my own battles."

"Stella." Aragorn murmured in a warning tone

"Just let me do this. They are never going to accept me if I don't. This is my in, let me take it." She begged in a voice so low that only Aragorn could hear.

"Fine but if it goes too far I will step in." He conceited.

Stella nodded and turned back to the towering man.

"Did you receive your fathers permission?" Eomer barked harshly as he looked at Aragorn who had stepped back taking Legolas with him.

"How did you know he likes it when I call him daddy?" she asked with a smirk. "That's an awful habit, spying." She teased.

Eomer turned red but composed himself well.

"Enough talk," Stella finally proclaimed. "If you want to prove that I do not deserve the respect for you to even look at me do it now." She slowly began to circle him.

It was then that Eomer lunged at her swinging his arms widely. Stella only narrowly missed his arms as she ducked under him.

"Come on bad boy!" She called as he spun to find her again. "Is that all you got?"

She bounced on the balls of her feet raising her fist to protect her face. Their antics had drawn quite a crowd and from what Stella could tell they were avidly cheering their favourite. She would be surprised if someone wasn't taking bets on the whole thing.

This time Stella decided she was going to be on the offensive. She aimed one good blow to Eomer's shoulder before retreating back and allowing him to take another sloppy blow. This time she was not so lucky as his fist made contact with her jaw. She saw stars but managed to keep herself up and alert. She spit out blood and saw out of the corner of her eye Aragorn stepping in to end this whole thing.

"Son of a bitch!" She yelled.

The pain shooting through her jaw only made her want to fight harder and win. She took several shots at Eomer's face.

"An eye for an eye baby!" She cried as she saw Eomer spit a small amount of blood out of his mouth.

They struggled for almost ten minutes, each landing a few good punches on the other. She moved to land another punch but was blocked by Eomer's strong forearm. She tried to use her free hand to land a punch to the gut but he grabbed her wrist and twisted it around her back. Her breathing was heavy and sweat trickled down her brow.

"Nice but do you want me to sing now?" She asked in a breathless tone.

"Sing?" he asked in an equally tired voice.

"Yeah." She grunted.

She elbowed him in the solar plexus at the same time as stomping on his instep. His grip loosened enough for her to turn around and she forced the base of her hand upwards into his nose. She smirked knowing that the last part would only add insult to injury. She gripped her hands on his shoulders and used his weight to propel her knee into his groin before tossing him onto the ground. She straddled his body before flopping herself on top of him effectively pining Eomer to the ground.

"And that Ladies and Gents, is what we call a Miss Congeniality." She announced to the crowd. "And it is what you get for calling me a whore and not talking to me." She whispered to the man beneath her. "Now someone get me something to drink! I have a headache like no other, I think it might be because someone punched me in the head."

She laughed as a pint of some amber liquid was brought to her as she still sat atop Eomer. It was not until Aragorn pulled her off of the poor man that he was finally able to go off and sulk over his loss.

"So tell me, dear husband, did I make you rich?" She asked as her took another swig of the ale.

"I am sorry?"

"Don't tell me you bet against me?" She asked incredulously. "Or worse, you didn't bet?"

"I did not feel it was appropriate to bet on a fight I did not want to happen in the first place."

"Pshh! Next time you bet on me. Always bet on me." She scolded. "I am sorry I made you worry but now I have their respect as a fighter just in case. Besides he did call me a whore."

"I am just pleased you did not hurt yourself too badly." He murmured while he ran his hands over her jaw.

She let out a low hiss.

"Yeah that is going to bruise tomorrow." She whispered through clenched teeth. "It's fine, lets get out of here. Go to our tent?" She asked with a smirk.

Aragorn nodded and the two left the crowd. They had just gotten to their tent and Stella was helping Aragorn take off his cloak and leather jacket.

"How about we get you out of those pants?" She asked as she leaned in to plant a kiss on his lips.

Without any warning a man stuck his head in.

"What the hell, man! We could have been in the middle of something very private! If you were only five seconds later!" Stella yelled.

"My apologies Lady Ellesar."

Stella's ears perked up at the name but did not mention it.

"Don't worry, I was just caught off guard." She justified before moving away from Aragorn,

"Sir. King Théoden awaits you." He stated, after delivering his message he made a hasty retreat from the tent.

"You scared him." Aragorn stated.

"He scared me." She countered. "What was that he called me? Ellesar?"

"That is my surname. Do you not like it?" He asked with a smile though Stella could see the real question in his eyes.

"It is yours, of course I like it. It just caught me off guard for a minute. I have always been a Maddox; it is so strange to be called something else. But I love your name; I will always love your name. Now, you have to go, the king wants to see you."

"Will you come with me?"

"Are you sure I am wanted? You know I don't really care about how we win this thing, just that we do."

"I would still like you to be there."

Stella nodded and the couple made their way to the king's tent.

As they entered Théoden walked past them murmuring something about a walk.

"The hell is that? I thought he wanted to see you, why would he leave?" Stella asked watching the king make his hasty retreat from the tent.

"That would be because I asked him to." A voice came from the shadows.

There was a movement and all of the sudden and a figure approached them.

"Oh I know you." Stella exclaimed. "Lord Elrond." She stated.

He smiled at her before turning his eye to Aragorn. The two shared a glance and then both looked at Stella.

"Would you like me to leave?" She asked quietly.

"No, no but we do need a moment to talk." Aragorn assured her.

"Well then, don't mind me. I'll just sit over here and occupy myself with something. Do you think Théoden would mind if I drank some of his wine? Probably not." She whispered the last bit to herself before pouring a glass.

Stella tried to be patient however she found her attention being drawn to the quite conversation. It was not until she heard Elrond mention something about certain failure of the war.

"Okay, I have had just about enough of this negative Nancy shit from everybody. Quite telling my husband that he is going to fail. If you aren't going to help then by all means get out because truly your discouraging words are starting to effect me." She finally interrupted.

Elrond nodded to Stella before turning back to Aragorn. The conversation did not last long after her outburst and Lord Elrond was on his way out the door again.

"So what did he want?" Stella asked.

"Among other things, he came to tell me that Arwen is dying." Aragorn whispered looking heartbroken.

"Aragorn, I am so sorry. I know she means a lot to you. What can we do?" She asked softly.

"You are so kind to want to help her." He smiled at her though there was little joy behind it.

"You loved her, she is an important part of your life. While Arwen and I may not have seen eye to eye about some things that does not mean I wish her dead. We will find a way to save her." She comforted. "What else did he come to tell you about?"

"He told me that Sauron's forces were launching a secret attack on Minas Tirith from the river, the south. And he gave me this." Stella looked down at Aragorn's hands and saw a blade resting there.

"What is that? It's beautiful."

"It is a sword, crafted out of the remnants of the sword that defeated Sauron the first time. If I accept this sword I must accept my place as king."

Stella nodded in comprehension.

"I know I told you I was never going to say anything more about the whole king thing but I am going to break my promise just this once. If you were to deny this 'destiny' you would continue to be a ranger, yes?"

Aragorn nodded once in confirmation.

"In that case, what about me? Would I travel with you, or would you leave me behind? Say even if I was to travel with you, would you want children? Would you have them travel with us? How do I fit in? How does a family fit in?"

Aragorn opened his mouth to answer but was instantly hushed by Stella's finger over his lips.

"I don't need an answer right away but if you do decide to stay a ranger you need to think about everything you would give up. Now lets go to bed."

She rose up and held her hand out for his.

"It is a beautiful sword." She whispered finally.


	30. A Splitting in the Rock

"Do you know what surprises me most about this place?" Stella asked the next morning as the couple dressed.

Aragorn remained silent waiting for her to elaborate.

"The flag. I mean, yes, the people of Rohan see themselves as horse lords but do they really have to put if on their flag? Why not something else? Why not a design simply for design's sake? That is what we do at home. Here let me show you."

She picked up a piece of paper and fished a pencil out of her bag.

"We have hundreds of flags, one for each country. I only know a few, my favourites."

She drew out six rectangles and proceeded to depict six different countries flags.

"Alright. Here is where I am from. It's called the United States. The stripes are red and white; in the corner there are thirteen stars. This one is called the United Kingdom, do you want to know why I remember this one?"

Aragorn nodded as he inspected each flag with enormous interest.

"There are these two princes, the eldest got married and his wedding was this huge production. I had a friend that got up before the sun just to watch preparations be made." Stella chuckled. "There are a million other reasons I could remember them and I remember that."

She took a deep breath and moved on to the next flag.

"This is from a place that makes the best buttery pastries you could ever imagine. It is called France; it is supposed to have the most romantic city in the world. The next one is Cuba; I don't know much about that place except that the president has lived almost as long as you have. That's Vietnam, my country fought a war against them and it was a hated war. We lost so many men. My grandfather was killed there. It was his job to go ahead of the rest of the soldiers and make sure it was safe. One day he made a wrong step and blew himself sky high. The last one is Germany; my mother's family is from there."

"What do they mean to you? Why do you remember these and not the others?" Aragorn asked softly.

"My father is from France, my mother is from Germany, my grandfather was killed in Vietnam, the United States wouldn't exist without the United Kingdom, and Cuba I have heard about my entire life. It also helps that the United States fought a war with almost all of those countries."

"Your history is shrouded in war."

"Well, that's how most things are remembered. Every leader wants to immortalize themselves, war is the best way to accomplish that. Look at Germany; they have done so much to advance global understanding and science. Do you want to know how I most easily remember Germany by? I remember the stories of the mass killing of millions of people, and one man leading them all. He caused the entire world to go to war. His name will never be forgotten, immortal because of his war."

Stella realised that she had gotten away from the point she was trying to make and quickly attempted to recollect her thoughts.

"Anyways, as I was saying, France may have the best pastries around but you don't see a giant croissant in the middle of their flag. It is a design simply for the sake of a design."

"Tell me more of this place." He murmured quietly.

He pointed to the first flag she had drawn, the one that represented her home.

"It is," she paused looking for the right words to describe her home. "A sad place. There is lots of anger and violence and corruption but there is also truth and light and happiness. Many people want a claim to power and most don't deserve it. I lived a very simple life. I was a student, which from what I see here is almost tandem to royalty. I never had to work for any material thing; I devoted my life to riding because I loved it and school because I was told to.

But that wasn't always so bad; I can still remember the Christmas I got my first horse. I was eleven and my parents took me on a trip that took almost all day to get to but we finally got to the stables and they blindfolded me. I was stumbling all over the place and complaining that I was going to hurt myself but they just brought Ares right up to me. It was love at first touch.

On the way home I could talk of nothing else, Ares had already been jumping for a year so I was frantic to get new riding equipment and my dad stopped and pulled into the only open shop and bought me everything I wanted even a new show coat. I had never been so happy in my entire life." She smiled off into space as she remembered that day.

"What is Christmas? You speak of it so fondly."

"Well it is a day in the end of December that is in remembrance of the birth Jesus Christ. According to some religions he was God's son born from a virgin in a manger. But that happened a very long time ago, in my time it was more about a man named Saint Nicholas who gives gifts to good boys and girls. People call him Santa and, with the help of his elves, he goes all around the world in one night delivering presents." She smiled.

"Children go to bed exited and wake up early to open presents and there is breakfast in pyjamas and a tree that is brought inside and decorated with tinsel. There are parties and a church service and everyone stops fighting because Mom yells at nine in the morning that if anyone messes this day up for her she will take away all of the presents. Yeah it's a fun day."

"I am always happy when I can see that smile." Aragorn whispered as she embraced her.

"Just wait a couple years when we have children. You will be able to see all of the traditions I am talking about and when you see the smile on your son's and daughter's faces you will understand why I remember it so fondly."

Aragorn smiled but his smile suddenly did not reach his eyes.

"I need to tell you, I have decided. Lord Elrond told me of a way to win the war, but it is dangerous. I want you to stay here and once I have completed my task I will come back for you and we will continue on together."

"No."

"Stella, listen to reason. It is dangerous; I cannot have you in that type of danger."

"No, Aragorn. I have taken a backseat to your fighting because that is what you needed of me but now I need this from you. I need to know that you are safe. What if I promise to never take the lead, I will always stay behind you. You know even if you do say no to me coming with you I will follow after you anyways and that would be much more dangerous."

Aragorn said nothing and Stella took that as a yes and clapped her hands.

"So where are we going?"

"Into the mountain."

"The mountain that, and I quote, 'nobody returns from'?" Stella asked in disbelief.

"Yes, there are men there that can fight with us, they will build our army to match that of Sauron's." Aragorn explained.

"But I thought it was evil."

"It is Stella, that is why it is dangerous."

"What is life without a little adventure? And besides my pants are finally dry!"

Aragorn chuckled at his wife's attitude towards something that only moments ago she proclaimed evil.

"How can you be so cavalier?"

"See, Want, Take." She shrugged and moved to exit the tent.

"Excuse me?" he called after her.

As they walked through the tent Stella explained.

"I see something, I can picture it in my mind. Right now I picture peace, I see us together with five little children and not a care in the world. I want it; I think about how much I want it. And then, just when I think my heart is about to explode from how much I want it, I take it. I use any means possible to take what I want and never be without it again. This trip into the mountain is going to bring me what I want, I can deal with the dangers."

"Does that work for everything?"

"It worked with you." She smiled. "When do we leave?"

"Tonight, after the rest have gone to sleep."

Stella nodded as she turned to Ares.

"Will you be telling Gimli and Legolas, you know they will want to come along as well?"

"No, I believe this is best kept quiet." Aragorn whispered

"Alright but don't say I didn't tell you when they are upset that you left them behind."

Aragorn nodded before walking away shaking his head slightly.

The day past quickly and soon many of the men were sitting around the fire drinking and enjoying what they could. It was Merry that stood up and asked Stella to share a song from her home.

"Merry! No!" Stella yelled from across the fire.

She shot him several death glares but he was oblivious to her anger.

"Just a short one Stella! Perhaps one a bit more light-hearted than the one you sung last time."

"How much have you had to drink? This is ridiculous!" She demanded hoping that her curt response would be the end of the conversation.

Unfortunately the idea had been picked up by some of the drunker men that also surrounded the fire and was spread until it seemed that every man present was asking for a song. Stella even saw Eowyn shouting her encouragement from where she sat next to Legolas.

Stella felt her resolve crumbling and she shot one final glare at Merry who was currently indulging in yet another ale.

"I suppose it is better to keep you all on my side!" She finally declared with a rough laugh.

Her response was met with a loud applause as she stood up and began to think of a song. She smiled as she finally decided on a song that she deemed appropriate for the situation. It was a song that carried a rather specific twang that covered her rather awful, unsteady voice.

"How about we raise a little bit of hell?" She asked playfully.

She was met by yet another round of applause and she gained slightly more confidence. She played the tune in her head and began to sway in time with the tempo.

_"I've been down with a broken heart_

_Since the day I learned to speak._

_The devil gave me a crooked start_

_When he gave me crooked feet._

_But Gabriel done came to me_

_And kissed me in my sleep,_

_And I'll be singing like an angel_

_Until I'm six feet deep._

_I found myself an omen and I tattooed on a sign_

_I set my mind to wandering and I walk a broken line._

_You have a mind to keep me quiet_

_And although you can try,_

_Better men have hit their knees_

_And bigger men have died._

_I'm gonna raise, raise hell_

_There's a story no one tells_

_You gotta raise, raise hell_

_Go on and ring that bell_

_You came upon a lightning strike_

_And eyes of bright clear blue_

_I took a tie from around my neck_

_And gave my heart to you._

_I sent my love across the sea_

_And though I didn't cry_

_That voice will haunt my every dream_

_Until the day I die._

_I'm gonna raise, raise hell_

_There's a story no one tells_

_You gotta raise, raise hell_

_Go on and ring that bell_

_I dug a hole inside my heart_

_To put you in your grave._

_At this point it was you and me,_

_And mama didn't raise no slave._

_You took my face in both your hands_

_And looked me in the eye_

_And I went down with such a force_

_That in your grave I lie._

_I'm gonna raise, raise hell_

_There's a story no one's telling_

_You gotta raise, raise hell_

_Go on and ring that bell_

_Go on and ring that bell_

_Go on and ring that bell_

_Go on and ring that bell"_

She smiled as the song came to an end. She was pleased to see that no one looked offended by either the sound of her voice or the content of her song. The group had not fallen silent however she could tell she had their attention. It was not until the men suddenly broke into a loud roar. Most were encouraging while others were simply going along with the crowd.

"Thank y'all, for your incredibly kind words! I do believe I have found my audience, half drunk soldiers!" She laughed. Before bowing slightly and sitting down again.

Her song had sparked some of the others to break into songs that she was unfamiliar with. She realised that it would be okay for her to slip away and relax before she and Aragorn set off for unthinkable doom. As much as she liked to exude the air of confidence she was freaking out slightly by what they were about to do. She slipped off to her tent and found Aragorn sitting on the cot.

"Aragorn? Is everything alright?" She asked cautiously wondering if he was freaking out as much as she was.

"Yes, Stella. I am fine." He whispered

"Well that is truly horrendous! You do know what fine stands for don't you?" She laughed attempting to lighten the situation.

"I am sure you are going to tell me." He responded shortly though she could hear the laughter in his voice.

"Yes I am. It stands for **F**ucked up, **I**nsecure, **N**eurotic and **E**motional. So are you fine?"

He let out a deep sigh.

"Are you sure you won't reconsider coming with me? I would feel better if you did." He whispered before standing up.

Stella looked at his hands and saw they were holding the sword Elrond had given him the previous night.

"Me and you, just us two." She smiled, "I am sorry, I can't give this one up. You mean far too much to me."

"Then yes, Stella, I am fine."

"Let me help fix that." Stella whispered. "You sit here." She pointed to the floor as she perched herself on the cot. "Take off your shirt." She whispered in his ear as he sat where she pointed.

"What is this?" He asked before her hands rubbing deep into his taught muscles silenced him.

"It is a massage, and it will help you with some of those feelings. Does it feel good?"

"Yes." he whispered as his breathing became harder and he let out the occasional groan.

"Than I am doing it right." She giggled at the sounds that came out of his mouth.

Fifteen minutes later Stella's hands finally paused and Aragorn let out a contented sigh. She wore a satisfied smile as Aragorn rose and turned to face her.

"Thank you." He placed a small kiss on her cheek. "That was what I needed." He chuckled at her expression. "You look incredibly content."

"Well did you hear the sounds you were making? I am sure everybody within a good ten metres heard you and thinks we are, how did Eowyn put it, having marital relations?" She laughed as she thought about Legolas with his superb hearing.

"Well you are my wife." Aragorn grinned causing Stella to laugh.

"I am." She agreed as he stepped closer. "Don't we have to be getting ready or something?" she protested weakly.

"I am just calming some of my nerves." Aragorn smiled as he moved impossibly closer.

"Well it would be a good idea to be really calm before this trip." She whispered as her eyes became heavy with desire.

Several hours later the couple were both up and preparing for their trip. Stella's knapsack was packed with a blanket and her knife along with several apples. The two daggers Aragorn had given her were tucked in her boot. She slipped on her old riding jacket over a tunic Aragorn had lent to her. The two headed out and without a word started walking toward their path.

"And, just where do you think you are going?" Came the gruff voice of Gimli.

Stella shot Aragorn a look that said 'I told you so' as he attempted to convince the dwarf that it was better for him to stay in the encampment. Stella almost believed Aragorn was winning until she heard Legolas' cool voice from the other direction.

"I knew they would be pissed if we left without them!" Stella whispered to Aragorn.

"You should know by now the stubbornness of dwarves." Legolas chastised with a smile.

"We are coming laddie, if for no other reason then to protect the lass. We all heard the sounds coming from your tent." He grumbled a laugh but Legolas looked deadly serious.

"Yes we could all hear that." Legolas looked pointedly at Stella who tried her best to look embarrassed however she had the impression that instead she came off looking smug.

"How about we just get going and stop talking about my sex life." She murmured.

The group of four set off with Stella squarely in the middle.


	31. All the King's Men

The group rode for what felt like hours but could have easily been minutes of days. Time had lost its importance to Stella as they looked out among the barren wasteland. It was Gimli that finally asked the question hat had been plaguing Stella's mind since they entered the cave.

"Who would dwell in this place?"

Legolas answered however rather than fill Stella with hope she found herself drowning in confusion and worry. The men they were looking for were supposed to be dead but were cursed for abandoning the last King of Gondor. Stella was suddenly painfully aware of what this trip meant for Aragorn, he would have to take his place as king.

"So, when you said you had decided, what did you mean by that?" She asked him attempting to play it cool.

"I mean that I have decided. If we win this war I will take my place as king if it means saving the ones I love." Aragorn confirmed.

"So you are doing this for Arwen?" She asked again.

"She was one of the reasons I am doing this, yes. I am also doing this because if we are not successful in this war, our life together can never happen and more than anything in the world I want that to happen." He elaborated. "Why do you ask?"

"Just checking that a girl doesn't have to be dying to get your attention." She joked lightly before falling back in line with him. "So, Legolas, does that mean that these guys are dead?"

"No, not entirely. They live a cursed life, some place between living and dead." Legolas explained looking wary of the surroundings.

"I see, and just to be clear, they did abandon the king before. What would stop them from doing it again?" She asked.

"Nothing." Aragorn called back to them.

Stella jumped but refused to recognise her own fear. 'I am going to be fine,' Stella calmed herself mentally, taking large breaths.

Finally they came to a spot that was slightly different than the rest of their surroundings. There were trees that grew so low the travellers were forced to approach on foot. The horses were becoming more and more anxious as they delve further into the shady area.

"They do not like this place." Stella gestured back to the horses.

"This door, it was created by the dead." Legolas told her.

Stella nodded.

"We are standing at death's door?" She let out a nervous laugh.

"I do not fear death." Aragorn stated.

"Maybe you should!" Stella protested as she backed away from the door.

As she said it, it was as if the inhabitants were agreeing with her. A sudden gush of cold air came streaming at them. The air caused the horses to bolt and Stella looked back in dismay. She realised that the only method for their retreat left with those horses.

"Ares! Come back! Ares!" She panicked slightly, "Come back!" realizing there was no hope left to leave the cursed wall she turned back to the group whimpering slightly.

"We must go forward." Aragorn concluded.

He raced in through the doorway with Legolas quickly on his heels. After only a minute of grumbling Gimli followed suit.

Stella sighed; she knew eventually she would follow after them. She knew that she would find the courage to enter death's home and join her friends however now she found her feet glued where they were.

_"Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen." _She whispered as she crossed herself. It wasn't enough but it would have to do as she steeled herself to enter the cave.

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." She murmured, taking her first step into the darkness.

The cave wasn't cold, as she expected, but rather it was stale. The air tasted old and carried an odd humidity. She felt a shiver run down her spine of it's own accord.

"Oh, Virgil, I have so much more respect for you now." She whispered to herself as she inspected the cave.

It did not take her long to catch up with the rest of the group. It appeared that they had waited for her only a few metres into the cave. There was a crunching under Stella's feet as she approached them. She looked down in curiosity and what she saw almost caused her knees to give out, skulls, lots and lots of skulls. She let out a loud gasp as she saw it.

"Oh dear God in heaven!" She exclaimed turning a horrified look to Aragorn. "These, these are the men you are talking about?" She asked, petrified to learn the answer.

"Yes." Aragorn responded curtly. "Let us move quickly and quietly."

They continued on for what felt like hours. Although Stella wanted to stop she felt no desire to linger around the skulls that littered the floors, walls, and ceilings.

"This is wrong! We should not be defiling these men's grave." Stella whispered as she moved closer to Aragorn.

"These men are not dead, this is not their final resting place." He reasoned in an equally hushed voice.

"Back home, we have a story that is eerily similar to this." Stella commented dryly. "A man running from some great evil enters the gates of hell. Within this version of hell are nine circles, each corresponding with a sin. According to the story before he fully enters hell he encounters the souls of the lost. They are not bad men that rest there, they are not evil, they are great thinkers, they are poets and scientists. But in the fifth circle, that is where God has sent the angry. I think it is time for you to see that we are not resting outside of the gates of hell. We entered a while back, and this is not limbo, this is the fifth circle of hell. Angry men serve no one, an angry man serves himself."

"Do you speak from experience?" Aragorn asked quietly, the irritation seeping into his voice.

"I watched Brandon be eaten away by anger. It caused him to be selfish, reckless, and harmful. Do you think he cared that he was bruising my wrists when he held me up against a wall screaming that had the blood of the innocent on my hands? Do you think he realised that the vase he threw across the room hit his baby sister? When is mother begged him not to dope up, do you think he remembered the people he swore to love and protect? No, he was angry, he did not honour the promises he made." She took a large breath. "I have suffered at the hands of angry men do not mistake fear for naïveté."

Stella pushed past him, preferring to walk at a faster pace to remove herself from the skulls.

"Effing hate death." She murmured.

The group walked only a few minutes more before the cave opened up.

"Holy Mary, mother of God!" Stella exclaimed.

She had never imagined that a cave, that looked so primitive from the outside, could hold such a beautiful piece of architecture. There was a wall that reminded her of the great churches in she had only ever seen once. There were great pillars at seemed to shimmer in the eerie light of the cave, alcoves that housed statues of men that Stella could only assume where meant to represent kings. The carvings on the pillars winded up and looked so ornate that Stella could only think that they should be shrouded on gold. In her ogling of the architecture she had over looked the ledge they were standing on.

It was not until there was a green wisp of smoke that seemingly passed through her that she was knocked out of her reverie. She stumbled back a few paces before catching her footing again. The sensation was as if death had crawled inside of her, chilling her to the bone. Stella turned as white as a sheet, her hands began to shake, her head felt light as if it was not getting enough oxygen. The smoke changed form and materialised into a corpse, though it was not still rather it was moving, edging closer towards the trembling girl that had huddled herself into a corner.

"Such a pretty little thing." It cooed at her, causing her to shrink further in on herself. "Little darling." It whispered.

Stella had not thought it was possible to feel worse than she already did however the mans words reminded her of that man, that night. She wanted to be sick.

"Don't call me that." She begged in a shaky whisper.

"Little darling!" the thing called again in a taunting voice. "Come and play little darling. I can give you a ride home, little darling."

"Please, please don't! Stop please." She cried as she placed her hands over her ears and began to rock back and forth.

"Do you remember what happens, little darling, when you take rides from strangers? Your friend isn't here now for you to sacrifice." He teased again, letting out a harsh laugh. "Poor little darling, all dressed up and nowhere to go."

"You aren't him! No you can't be! No, Stop!" Stella cried.

She felt warm hands on her shoulders but she was so ensconced in remembering that night that she flipped out and pushed them away.

"Now it's your turn, your friends will hear your screams and do nothing. Just like you did, little darling. No one is going to save you!"

"No! Liz! No! I'm sorry! Please don't do this! Liz!" She cried.

Stella was so involved in reliving that night that she could not focus on the attempts of her friends to stop the man. Gimli launched himself at the man, swinging his axe blindly. Legolas shot an arrow into the mans head only to see it pas through and make a clattering sound as it hit the floor on the other side. Aragorn was the only person that seemed petrified by what he was seeing. He had tried to comfort Stella by wrapping his arms around her but she had only pushed him off of her. He just watched as he saw his wife brake down before him.

After a pointed glance from Legolas he finally was able to push his emotions away and fight. He raised the sword Lord Elrond had given him and swung with all the anger he possessed. It was this action that caused the things attention to waver. It raised it's own sword to shield off the attack. It's ghostly eyes surveyed the sword with interest and horror.

"That sword, it was destroyed. Impossible." It whispered.

"It was remade, for the king of Gondor. And she is your queen!" he roared.

Stella was lost in her own world. As the voice of the man stopped taunting her she was able to think about that night.

_"Get in the car, little darling, I'll help your friend." He had told her._

_"Thanks Mister! I don't know what we would have done without you. I was afraid we would have to walk for a minute there." She slurred as she plopped down into the leather seat. "So, do you know where we live? It's a nice place! Right up the road here and then a left on campus drive. It's a cute little white house; the only problem is the walls are paper-thin! A few weeks ago I heard Christi and Rodger really going at it." She laughed and the man laughed alongside her. "You know, I never asked your name?" _

_"Steven, little darling, and what is your name?" He responded in a twisted grin._

_"Oh I'm Stella and the drunk is Lizzy. Say, Steven you're kinda cute. How ever could I thank you for the ride?" She pushed herself up near him her drunk eyes pouring lust. _

_"Oh little darling, you are very drunk. It would be bad manners to take advantage of you." He responded with a smile._

_"Humph, such a southern gentleman. Do you have a hat?" She asked as she sat back down. _

_As they got the dorm Liz was passed out in the back and Stella poked at her a couple of times. _

_"Lizzy, get your ass up!" She yelled attempting to push her friend out the car._

_"I got her, little darling, you open the door and I can carry her up." He suggested._

_Stella nodded her thanks and led him up to Liz's room before turning to her own._

_"I'm sorry you have to leave Steven, the rest of the girls have already left for break. Lizzy and I are the only ones left. I am so lonely, and even if we got loud I don't think Lizzy will hear us." She whispered conspiratorially._

_Steven laughed._

_"Oh, little darling, if only you were not so drunk." He smiled and stepped forward to plant a small kiss on her forehead._

Stella slowly was able to come back to her reality however she could do little more than sit in the corner and shake as tears streamed down her face. 'I offered myself to him! Why did he do that to her? Why couldn't I save her?' She repeated in the mind over and over. She saw Aragorn talking to the ghostly figures and saw that here were thousands of them. She shivered again.

There was a loud roar as Aragorn and the ghosts argued and suddenly the green figures disappeared and the room burst with millions of skulls cascading down from the ornate wall that had held them at bay. Stella knew she should move in an attempt to save herself form being smothered by the skulls however she found all of her will power gone and she feet would not move.

Aragorn saw Stella sitting on the cold ground looking petrified by the skulls that surrounded her. He pushed his way back to her, scooping her up and carrying her out of the room. Stella curled herself into a ball in Aragorn's arms.

"I'm sorry." She whispered before breaking down and sobbing into his chest.


	32. A Female's Presence

After what felt like hours of travel curled up in Aragorn's arms Stella had finally cried herself out of tears. Wiping her cheeks on his shoulder she braved a look out in the direction they were headed. She could see the faintest glimmer of light before them. She refused to move from the comfort of her husband's arms until they had safely cleared the cave. Aragorn deposited her on the ground softly before moving to look at her. He eyed her warily as if to gauge just how damaged she really was.

"I'm going to be alright. I promise." She muttered. "I should have listened to you. I should have stayed behind. I had no idea that would happen. It was as if he were in my mind, as if he knew what I had seen. How?" She rambled, attempting to find her confidence again.

"I can not explain the workings of that place." Aragorn stated. "I had no idea." He murmured to himself. "You never told me," he paused looking for the right words. "You never told me what that man said. You never mentioned Brandon hurting you before. I did not know the true extent of the pain inflicted on you."

"I tried to explain!" She cried. "I tried to tell you before those things came out. The men the ruined my life were never good men. They will not rest outside of hell. They will be in the fifth circle. They are angry men; they serve no one save themselves. Selfish by design, harmful without cause."

"I had to try, I had to try and save the life we wanted before it was taken from us." Aragorn reasoned.

"All the king's horses and all the king's men." She smiled weakly. "Let's go, let's fight. If I am going to break from my past, I need to have a future to look forward to."

She did not have the heart to tell him just how sad that particular nursery rhyme ended because she needed to see some amount of hope in his eyes. Aragorn smiled at her bleakly before something behind her caught his attention. Stella whipped around and to her horror she saw the man, the one that taunted her only a short while ago. Aragorn stepped in front of her protectively. The ghost figure stared at Aragorn with an unreadable look.

"We fight!" It finally spoke.

As it did several thousand other green forms came rushing through the rock and past the group. Stella shivered as the past, thankful that none came so close as to actually pass through her.

Aragorn looked shocked as he turned to see the waters in front of them. The green ghosts had arranged themselves in a tight formation at the shores edge. The group moved to the waters just in time to see the last of the ghost figures to disappear. They moved closer, almost into the water. Stella remained close to Aragorn but realised the importance of appearing stronger than she really was.

"You will go no further." Aragorn called to the ship.

His request was met with laughter from the crew. He raised an eyebrow at Legolas who nocked an arrow into place and aimed a warning shot. Just as he was about to shot Gimli nudged him only slightly causing the arrow to lodge itself into one of the crew narrowly missing the captain.

Stella raised her eyebrow at Gimli and he merely shrugged in response. Stella let out a rough laugh.

"I suppose we are all going to be pirates today." She grinned wickedly. "Drink up me 'earties yo ho."

"We are coming aboard!" Gimli shouted which earned even more laughter from the boats.

"You and what army?" The captain called out.

"I do love it when they ask that question." Stella chuckled.

"This one." Aragorn whispered.

As he uttered those words the ghost made them selves visible once again and launched themselves towards the boats, destroying everything in their path. It took only a moment for the pirates to be destroyed and the group boarded the boats with little trouble.

Stella made her way to the wheel and took control of the ship before anyone else could steal it away from her.

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me." She sang quietly.

"And just what do you think you are doing?" Gimli asked with a hint of laughter in his voice.

"The last time I checked, you all had never seen the ocean before. I assumed that meant you hade never sailed a boat the way I have. Besides I wanted to be a pirate for a day." Stella joked with a laugh. "Besides we only have a few minutes before we engage in real war, at least you do, and I quite imagine Aragorn will want me to stay behind. I can't say I entirely blame him, I did freak out back there and if I am completely honest with myself I don't want to fight anymore."

She laid the puppy dog eyes on thick and finally Gimli grumbled is acceptance at the deal.

Gimli let out a harsh laugh.

"Stella, you could win over whole armies with that look." He joked

"Thank you Gimli! Just remember, I'll be here all week!" She joked tipping her non-existent hat before returning her gaze to the waters ahead.

Stella began singing another song quietly to herself in an attempt to rid her mind of the horrific thoughts that haunted her.

"_My heart is pierced by Cupid, I distain all glittering gold. There is nothing can console me save my jolly sailor bold_."

Aragorn came up next to her. His eyes told her that he brought news she would not like.

_"His hair it hangs in ringlets, his eyes as black as coal. My happiness attends him wherever he may go. From Tower Hill to Blackwall, I'll wander, weep and moan all for my jolly sailor until he sails home." _She continued as she turned to look him directly in the eye. "_My heart is pierced by Cupid, I distain all glittering gold. There is nothing can console me save my jolly sailor bold_."

She looked at him expectantly; she knew the words that he was about to speak and had resigned to accept his fear on her own terms.

"Yes, my jolly sailor bold?" she asked quietly as she wiped the persistent tearstains on her face.

"Stella, when we get to the shores, I would like for you to stay in the ship. It will protect you from danger and when it is over I will come and get you. Please." He was almost begging and Stella was caught off guard by the hurt that his voice held.

"I can't stay in the ship because I can't be alone especially knowing that you are fighting. I'm sorry I won't do that. What I will do is make sure that I head directly for a safe place. I won't fight, I will keep myself safe but I can't just wait here. Besides with those ghosts on our side there isn't likely to be much action for me anyways." She reasoned. "I will be safe to protect both of us."

Aragorn leaned in pressing a kiss to her temple.

"I love you, be safe."

"Will you do me one favour?" She asked quietly.

Aragorn nodded slightly as he pulled away from her.

"Pray with me?" she questioned, clasping her hands around his kissing his fingers gently.

"Yes." He whispered leaning his head in close, resting his forehead on hers.

_"Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend him in battle. Be his protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God cast into hell Satan and the entirety of evil spirits who prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of the souls of men. Amen. _

_Angel of God, his Guardian dear, to whom God's love commits him here, ever this day and night be at his side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen." _She crossed herself quickly before turning away.

"What was that last part?" he asked.

"I was praying that your guardian angel would protect you as you face the ultimate test." She whispered so softly that Aragorn almost missed it.

"Thank you Stella, remember to keep yourself safe. I will see you tonight in the citadel."

"I will be there, safe and in one piece." She promised.

Stella gently brought the ship to a stop on the dock and hid herself out of view for the orc's that waited there. Legolas was the first to show himself as he knocked an arrow into place and aimed for one of the beasts' heads. It made a terrible squelching sound as it lodged into the beast's head. Stella cringed away from the sound. She watched as the ghosts attacked the orc's, she concentrated enough on only hearing the battle that was taking place ten meres away rather than peek her head up to look.

Stella realised that there was only one thing she cared about. She could not lose anymore of her friends and family. She also realised that there were only two outcomes of this battle, either they would be alive or they would be dead. She reasoned that she could not stand around and watch her friends die, instead she focused her energy on listening and painting a picture in her mind in which the trio was alive and well.

When she heard the crash of a sword she imagined Aragon slashing down the malformed beasts two at a time. The harsh whoosh of air became the arrow from Legolas' bow cutting through the sky and embedding itself into its intended target. Every grunt became the laboured breath of Gimli after he cut his foes down to size with the swing of his axe. After fifteen minutes the surrounding area became quieter, as if the fighting had moved further away. Stella cautiously stuck her head up just peaking out over the edge. Her eyes darted over the masses of fallen soldiers; thankfully she did not see her friends lying among them.

'Just gonna walk past the creepy dead dudes and be on my way!' She thought with a grimace. Stella walked through the mounds of dead bodies that had already attracted a multitude of flies. Black ooze covered the ground and filled the air with a sickening smell.

With a small grunt Stella realised there was no easy path through the mass of bodies; she would have to step over the smelling corpses.

"Okay Voldy, it looks like you've gone a little mouldy." She whispered in a singsong voice as she stepped over the bodies.

It was a slow, arduous task to get past the slew of corpses. Stella felt like she had walked for hours, and while the body count had diminished she saw, with increasing frequency, men of Rohan and their fallen horses. She kept looking for the peak of an axe, of the fair blond hair to indicate that her family had fallen. She could not bring herself to look for Aragorn. She did not know what she would do if she found him. If he died her hope was lost, her future lonely, and she was confident the war would be lost.

From a short distance she heard a scream. It was male, it sounded as if all the joy in the world had left. It was a cry of anguish Stella did not want to move closer to the sound, she was terrified of what she might find. She heard another loud scream to match the first and Stella snapped out of the fear coma she had placed herself in and pushed her feet forward. She felt as if she were flying with the sheer amount of speed she gained as her ran. She finally made it to the group of people.

Eomer and Théodred were huddled around a large mass that Stella could not make out entirely. She could tell there were several bodies and at least one fallen horse.

Stella doubled over nursing the pain in her side.

"Who," she paused to catch her breath, "Who is it?" She panted out.

Théodred moved slightly giving Stella a better view of the scene. What she saw almost sent her to her knees. 'It's all my fault again, I knew she was going to put herself in danger and now she's dead because of me.' Stella silently berated herself. She forced herself to move closer, her feet inched closer of their own accord. She had to check, she had to make sure.

Stella dropped forward onto her knees and extended her fingers and blindly felt for a pulse. Her other hand went up to smooth out Eowyn's hair. At first Stella could feel nothing and she feared she had truly lost another friend.

"Eomer," She commanded in a voice that sounded much calmer than she truly was. "I want you to hold her neck very firmly, make sure it doesn't move. Théodred, I know this is going to be hard but I need you to move your father out from under her when we lift her up, and the horse as well. It is too late for me to save Théoden, but I can try to save her." She pleaded.

The two men nodded and did as she asked. Eowyn was placed back down on firm ground and Stella began working on her. Stella began removing Eowyn's armour and tore off her shirt. Stella interlocked her hands and began compressions. Her actions were met by cries of indignation.

"I'm saving her!" Stella called to the onlookers, "and if you men had any respect you would turn away and give her some privacy! Not you!" She called to Théodred and Eomer. "I need you," She pointed at Théodred. "To hold her neck. Eomer, do you know how to check for life?" she asked in a hurry.

Eomer nodded and took hold of his sister's arm pressing two fingers into her wrist.

"Nothing." He cried.

Stella nodded, she was to busy counting to respond properly. 'Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen' she counted to herself.

"Okay I am going to press my mouth to hers and give her some of my breath." Stella explained. "It is going to look like I am kissing her. Okay?"

The two men nodded but both looked sceptical. 'Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.' She counted. Tilting Eowyn's head back and pinching her nose, Stella took a large breath and leaned in blowing air into Eowyn's lungs. She felt the woman's chest rise and knew she was doing it right. She blew air into Eowyn's lungs once more before going back to compressions. She looked at Eomer and he shook his head.

Stella repeated the process five more times before Eomer finally felt the faintest pulse. Stella stopped what she was doing, she was exhausted but overjoyed that she had been able to save her.

"You!" She called to one of the men that was milling about. "Find a plank that is wide and long enough to carry her." She gestured down at Eowyn. "And give me your cloak."

The man did as she asked and handed over the wool material. Stella meticulously folded the fabric creating a thick band. She slid the band under Eowyn's neck and wrapped it around securing it in place with the clasp.

She finally looked up.

"She is going to be fine, she is alive. She has open wounds that need to be cleaned and until she wakes up entirely she can't move her neck just encase. One of you will have to stay with her always and make sure she has enough water. I think that is very important at this point. I need to go, but if anything happens with her come and find me. She is not going to be dying on my watch, I am going to do everything in my power to save her."

Stella got up to leave; looking for the people she missed the most. She walked past many people she was sure needed her help but could think of nothing but seeing her husband again. After fifteen minutes of looking she finally found him standing with Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Pippin. She almost cried in relief when she saw them.

"My favourite men in the whole wide world, all in one place. I am a truly blessed woman!" She called, earning their attention.

Legolas was the quickest to rush forward and scoop her into an enormous hug. Stella giggled, as she leaned into the hug she whispered in his ear.

"Eowyn was fighting today, she got hurt. I am going to do everything I can to save her. You could have lost her today, don't loose the future simply because you are too blind to see what is in front of you." She pulled away with a smile and a quick peck on the cheek.

Gimli approached her next, his gruff voice and thick beard made it almost impossible to see his emotions and Stella was surprised when he launched himself at her in a way similar to Legolas. Gandalf beamed at her and she had the distinct impression he could hear exactly what she had told Legolas. Pippin wrapped his arms around her waist and refused to let go.

"You will not believe what I got myself into!" He exclaimed with joy.

Pippin backed away puffing out is chest like a peacock. The shirt he was wearing was emblazoned with a white tree surrounded but stars.

"And what is that Pip?" she laughed

"I am one of the Guards of the Citadel!" He exclaimed looking proud.

Stella had no idea what that was but decided it was best to act as if she did.

"Oh! I am honoured to be in your presence." She grinned foolishly and curtsied low acting as if she were wearing a fine silken gown rather than filthy riding pants.

"The pleasure is all mine." He played along bowing low to her.

Stella giggled glad that they could be happy again. Pippin made some excuse shortly after to look for Merry and Stella turned to her husband.

"Here I am, safe and in one piece. Just as you requested." She smiled before running into his arms.

She pulled away suddenly.

"Oh I forgot, your Majesty!" She curtsied low just as she had done for Pippin.

"No, I wish for you to never call me that. I am simply Aragorn to you." He smiled before pulling her up.

"As you wish. But just think of all the fun things we could do with it." She smiled innocently before lifting up on her tiptoes to capture his ear in her mouth. "Your Majesty" She whispered softly before lowering herself down again and snuggling into his arms.

The group made their way to the city. It looked destroyed and there were so many wounded Stella had a hard time not rushing over to help. But she needed to be with her loved ones a little while longer before she could leave them again.


	33. New Challenges

Stella and Aragorn walked into a stone courtyard with a silver tree squarely in the middle. Stella took in a sharp breath; it was the tree she had dreamed about so many nights ago. She slowly let go of Aragorn's arm as she walked closer to the tree. Her arm was outstretched and her fingertips grazed the bark lightly. It was smooth almost as if it were made out of metal rather than a creation by nature. It's twisted branches and odd angles only conveyed a sad atmosphere around the tree.

"It's not right." She whispered to herself. "Trees are not meant to be so cold."

She turned back to Aragorn with a sad smile.

"It is beautiful."

"It's dead, but I am sure you can fix it." She smiled "It will be beautiful."

They continued to walk through two large black doors, which stood out along the white walls of the city. Stella was almost blinded by the sheer amount of marble that covered the room. There was a small flight of stairs leading up to a chair that was a deep rich black. Stella rushed up the stairs and placed herself on the chair.

"Oh dear, well I do suppose you won't be falling asleep on the job! This chair is so uncomfortable."

Stella scooted around the large chair looking for a comfortable angle. She heard a rough laugh come from Aragorn.

"Something amuse you?" She asked calmly.

"Very few would risk sitting on a king's throne in front of him." He laughed.

"Yes, and if I were in front of a king I wouldn't dare do this," she flipped around so that her feet stuck straight up in the air and her head dangled above the floor. "But you just told me that I should never see you as king, simply Aragorn." She smiled the best she could as blood rushed to her face turning her pink.

"I would have it no other way." He pronounced finally.

Aragorn strode up the few stairs and bent down placing a soft kiss on her lips as she hung upside down. Stella immediately moved to deepen the kiss realising that she could have lost him that day. There was a loud coughing noise from the doorway and Stella momentarily broke their haphazard embrace to look at the noise.

"Gandalf!" She exclaimed.

Stella hastily moved to create a more respectable distance between her and Aragorn. She momentarily forgot she was upside down on a chair that was raised several metres off the ground and as she wiggled she managed to knock both herself and Aragorn down several stairs only to land in a pile at Gandalf's feet. She sprung up and quickly brushed off her pants before giving Aragorn a hand.

"Yes, I have come to speak to the King of Gondor, concerning the threat of Mordor." He explained while looking directly at Aragorn.

"Everything is alright, right?" she asked worriedly.

"This war is far from over, it will never be over until the ring is destroyed. The entire fate of this world lies on the shoulders of one small hobbit." Gandalf told her in a tone of defeat.

"Have hope, Gandalf, I didn't know Frodo or Sam for very long but I can guaranty that there is more than meets the eye. You know how sometimes you just get a feeling about someone? That was what I felt when I met them. Would you like me to go while you menfolk discuss battle tactics?" She offered.

"I believe that would be best. In the mean time it may be beneficial to check on your friend for the sake of Legolas. I do believe that he is holding a silent vigil by her bed until she wakes." He told her.

With that information Stella took off at a brisk pace before turning back and returning to give Aragorn a brief hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Nothing too rash." She whispered, "Just remember that at the end of the day I need you alive." With that she turned away and headed down to help the wounded.

Stella only had to wander for a short period of time before she saw Legolas kneeling with his head resting on his hands.

"Never fear, Stella is here!" she exclaimed, clapping her hand on his back.

"She had yet to awaken." Legolas mumbled without looking up.

Stella appraised the scene before her. Théodred and Eomer were on one side looking lost and angry while Legolas sat on the other refusing to make eye contact. She felt a rush of guilt before she could suppress it. It was her fault no one knew Eowyn was fighting. It was her fault her friend had almost died, had almost destroyed the life of three men. She took in a ragged breath before looking down at the woman lying before her.

"I am going to make her feel better, more comfortable." Stella whispered softly.

She knelt down beside Legolas and slowly began removing the armour that still encased Eowyn. It was heavy, made of mostly metal and wood.

"Jesus!" Stella mumbled as she picked it up. "This stuff is dangerous! And whose bright idea is it to wrap your head in a tin? One hit to the head and you could kill yourself!" Stella mumbled again. "Maybe it is best if you all went and did something. I promise I will get you if anything happens."

"I will not leave my sister." Eomer exclaimed.

"I will not leave my cousin." Théodred echoed. "She may not have been my actual sister but she may as well have been."

"No." came Legolas' steely reply.

"Very well suit yourselves!" Stella gave up as she turned back to her friend. "Hey you!" she called to a woman passing by with water and towels. "I need clean water as hot as you can get it and a towel that has not been used."

The woman nodded briefly and turned away at a brisk trot.

"Stop staring over her as if she were dead. She's not yet and she won't be as long as I have anything to say about it. Would you like to hear a story from my home? Perhaps focusing on something else would help." She suggested.

She was met by silence.

"Fine I suppose I will just keep talking to myself then!" she exclaimed with a false cheeriness. "Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away," she started with a giggle. "No, but for real, in my home there are many different lands and one of them is called Greece. A very long time ago the people there believed in many different gods that controlled different things, but the most powerful one was Zeus. He was the king of all gods, known as the father of all gods and men, he ruled from mount Olympus, home of the gods."

Stella paused her story to clean some of Eowyn's wounds when she heard a small cough from Théodred she looked up in wonder.

"Could you please continue with your story? It has been a long time since I could find solace in merely the recounting of a children's story."

Stella smiled and nodded briefly.

" Zeus' father, Cronus, was a power hungry god, and ate his children before they could claim his power. But Zeus' mother hid him from Cronus. Once Zeus was old enough he overthrew Cronus and cut open his stomach saving the lives of his brothers and sisters. It was because of this action that he became king of all gods."

She paused to gain her audiences attention. All three of them were looking at her with a mix of disgust and awe. She smiled.

"This is not a children's story." She stated simply. "His brothers and sisters were Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. They were gods as well. As Zeus was named king he was given thunderbolts and became god of the sky. Poseidon was given a trident and became the god of the sea. Hades was given a helmet of darkness and became god of the underworld. Zeus took Hera, goddess of women, as his wife and had many children including Ares, god of war." She paused as the woman returned with fresh warm water and bandages.

"But there was also a goddess of love and fertility, and a virgin goddess of the hunt. If you ask me Eowyn is a perfect Artemis. Can't you just imagine her with a bow and arrow slung over her back with her hunting dog by her side?" Stella asked Legolas, looking up from the careful wrapping she was placing on a particularly nasty gash on Eowyn's leg.

There was a steely nod in her direction as Legolas murmured something in another language as he gently rubbed Eowyn's hand with his knuckles.

"Of these gods is there one responsible for healing the wounded?" Théodred questioned with a glance at his cousin.

"I'm sorry, I don't know all of them. There might be, but I can't think of one." Stella justified in a panicky voice.

The last thing she wanted was to give them the idea that here was no hope for her.

"But if you are looking for someone responsible for this whole mess," she paused, knowing she would regret the next words. "You should blame me. I knew Eowyn was going to fight and I hid it from everyone. I didn't tell anybody because I knew that this was so important for her. Then I forgot about her, there was so much going on, you have to understand. I'm sorry." She whispered the last bit unsure of how her confession would be received.

"You knew?" Eomer asked looking as if he was about to murder her.

"Yes."

"And you forgot about her?" Théodred questioned looking equally as furious.

"It wasn't like that. I mean, she made me promise not to tell anyone." Stella justified taking a step back.

"Why?" Legolas finally spoke looking distraught.

"She needed this! She needed to do something, she could never be happy watching as someone else did the work. She wanted to help!"

Legolas could not process the words his sister was speaking. He wanted to hate her for not telling him but found he was incapable of hate towards her. Instead he felt a sadness he had never felt before. It rocked him to the core and caused him to shrink away from Stella.

"I'm sorry!" She cried again, attempting to move towards Legolas in search of comfort.

She found none.

"I promise I am going to help her. I won't leave her side until she wakes; I will do everything in my power to save her."

"Yes, you will." Eomer barked before turning away and storming off.

"If she dies, her death is on your hands." Théodred stated as he moved to follow after Eomer.

"I know." Stella whispered to herself.

She looked at Legolas had had moved himself far away from her but was still holding Eowyn's hand.

"You are my sister, I will love and protect you always, but I truly do not wish to talk to you now." Legolas told her without looking up.

"I understand, I am so sorry."

Stella returned to her work on Eowyn's legs that were scared and bruised. She suspected the left one was broken because of the strange colouring that had formed.

An injured, yet conscious, man was placed on Stella's other side and as she dressed Eowyn's wounds the man started a conversation with her. Stella responded in short sentences without looking at the man. She was unwilling to admit that she wanted to do nothing more than curl into a heap and cry.

"Do I know you?" He asked in a ragged voice.

"I doubt it."

"Are you a healer?"

"Nope."

"Than what are you doing?"

"Killing time."

"A woman does not belong around such violence."

"Neither do children." She responded snidely as a group of kids no older than seven wandered by.

"You are angry?"

"Nope."

"Sad?"

"No, just annoyed. Listen, honey, I don't really want to talk right now. My friend over here is really hur -" She turned around sharply and sucked in a large breath "Boromir?"

"Was my brother." The man finished for her. "How did you know Boromir?"

"I travelled with him before, he was a brave man, a strong man."

"He was. Do you think you could tell me more about his death? I cannot fathom that my brother is actually dead."

Stella smiled sadly.

"Yes, just let me finish wrapping up her wounds and I can talk. Okay?" She asked gently.

Stella turned away and finished off the last of her wrappings before moving up to Eowyn's forehead and placing a small kiss on her temple.

"Please wake up. I need you to be alright." She begged quietly before turning around to face Boromir's brother.

"Your name is Faramir, right?" Stella asked with a smile. "Boromir talked of you very often. How did you know he was dead?"

"The horn of Gondor washed up on the shores near my feet, I knew the only way Boromir would have separated from it is if had had no other choice. He had to be dead."

Stella opened her mouth but could not find the words so she just closed it and looked at the man again. As if acting on instinct she raised a hand to his face and wiped a small amount of hair off his cheek, as she pulled away she noticed her hand had become coated in a thick clear substance.

"Is this kerosene? Why are you covered in it?" She asked trying to keep her voice calm.

"I was injured and brought back here. My father mistook me for dead and attempted to burn us both. A hobbit saved me; I am told, risking his own life for mine. He could not save my father."

Stella's mouth dropped again. She had heard some of Boromir's stories of his father but could not believe that he would do that.

"I'm sorry. I can't even imagine. Can I clean you up a little? I don't think it's good for you to stay like that. If anything it has to be a bit uncomfortable."

"That would be very nice, thank you." Faramir admitted, looking down at his clothing.

Stella immediately began removing the layers of clothing and armour he was wearing.

"You people here sure do wear a lot of clothes." She exclaimed in frustration as she found another layer. "Where I am from most people don't even wear half of this. Not even real shoes most of the time."

"What is your home called?"

"I live in a place called the United States. From a large city called Los Angeles. I am sure you have never heard of it but it is the most beautiful place you could ever see, especially the town I am from. It rests near the ocean with water the colour of the sky and sand as soft as silk."

Faramir took on a peaceful expression as Stella described her home.

"But it is a very long ways from here, I do not even know how to get back really. So I decided that as long as I am wanted I would stay here."

He nodded again looking lost in thought.

"You speak unlike any woman I have ever met."

"Oh not with the whole woman thing! Seriously, just like your brother. That is why I didn't like him to start out with you know; he always told me I was not 'proper'. I showed him once or twice just how proper I could be." She snickered as she remembered the first time they had met. "I actually bit him once, and punched him in the face. I finally got through to him about a month before he passed I and got to see him as a father figure of sorts. I convinced him I was not a 'lady' and I think he saw that as an excuse to take me under his wing, not that I'm complaining."

"He was my best friend and the father figure that my actual father could not be to me." Faramir explained looking lost in thought. "It pains me to think that he died alone."

"He didn't, I promise you! I was with him the whole time I wanted to save him, I begged for someone to do something but it was too late. He died a soldiers death." Stella could not help but let a small stream of tears rush over her cheeks. "We were ambushed by Orc, he died protecting the hobbit that saved you."

Stella patiently answered all of Faramir's questions, even the painful ones that she would usually shy away from.

"I met two hobbits that had also travelled with Boromir, they claimed to be carrying the reason for the fellowship." He stated.

"Frodo? And Sam? Are they alright? I have thought about them everyday since they left us."

"We left them alive. They did not know of Boromir's death though one claimed that Boromir coveted the evil ring, is this true?" There was pity in his eyes as he spoke of his brother.

Stella paused before she nodded.

"He wanted to use the ring to bring hope to his people, to save what he thought was dying. Everyone felt the rings presence, everyone coveted it just a little, even me. But Boromir had more to lose than any of us. The ring affected him more. That does not make him weaker than the rest of us."

"I saw it. The Ring, I saw it and I wanted it, but I knew if I were to take it I would become the very evil I work against."

"You know, where I come from we don't have any sort of Rings of Power but we do have money. Greed has proven itself stronger than many men. I had a friend who decided to borrow money from these really shady guys in an attempt to impress this girl. Matty was a people person, he loved to take people out for drinks and meals were always on him, so he kept borrowing money and never paying it back. He never told any of us how much trouble he was in until he ended up one night dumped at the hospital beaten within an inch of his life."

Faramir looked confused by Stella's words.

"He got greedy, not because he was a bad guy but because he wanted to see other people happy. I don't look down on him because of his actions, I can only understand and learn from them."

She paused in her long-winded lecture to look up at Faramir's face.

"Sorry, I talk a lot. My friends always told me I should teach or something because then I would have to do nothing but listen to my own voice."

She smiled as she looked down at his leg again and removed more of the thick oil that encased him. Her smile faltered and she took in a large gulp of air.

"Holy Mary, mother of God! Why didn't you tell anyone? Look at your leg! Damn beasts nearly ripped the thing clean off! Are those bite marks? Shit! This needs to be cleaned! Hold still."

From under the layers of pants and armour Faramir's leg appeared badly bruised and cut. Ragged edges of skin were cut around his calf in what Stella determined to be bite marks. Slightly yellow ooze had started to form at the deeper edges.

"What were they going to do when someone finally caught on that your leg was infected? Just chop the damn thing off?" Stella was irate and hiding it poorly. "Infection is more deadly than an arrow to the chest! You could get anything from gangrene to blood poisoning, either way it could kill you!" She whispered her complaint in an attempt to minimise panic caused by her talking about death.

"I need to get a few things. You stay here and I am just going to be over there." She waved her hands in the opposite direction.

The sight of Faramir's leg made her want to be sick. She had read about plenty of infections for her class however she had never seen one as bad as his. Even as she attempted to reason it to herself the growing queasy feeling in her stomach was growing. She quickly ducked behind several large wooden crates and emptied the contents of her stomach before turning back to Faramir, who was looking with her with a look of concern and confusion.

Stella nodded her head briefly and mentally began preparing herself for both sight and smell.

"Uh, sorry about that." She whispered as she walked back to Faramir. "It's probably not that bad anyways." She gestured down at his leg.

She was lying and both knew but neither was willing to call her bluff. Faramir nodded and turned back to look at the ceiling above.

"I'm just going to, um, clean it?" It came out sounding like a question and Stella had to fight to keep the composer in her voice.

She knelt down again and began wiping off the dirt, grim, puss, and oil that had attached to his leg.

"So," She started in an attempt to forget about the gruesome infection she was dealing with. "Faramir, when you aren't getting yourself hacked into little pieces, what do you do for fun?" She asked mildly.

"That depends on who is asking." He responded vaguely as he winced at her prodding. "If you were a soldier I would say there is nothing more satisfying than a drink in one hand and a woman in the other."

Stella scowled.

"And if I was not a soldier?" She asked still focused on her work.

"If I am honest, I never enjoyed fighting the way some men do. I find myself much more at home with a pen rather than a sword." He confided quietly.

"I don't like fighting either. I will if it means protecting my loved ones and myself but I would never do it for enjoyment. At the same time I never had much patience for writing, I suppose that was because nothing happened in my life worth writing about." She shrugged. "I bet I could right a book or two now."

"And you? When you are not patching up the wounded what is it you do for fun?" He asked through gritted teeth as she began applying a strong alcohol to the wound.

"I love to ride. I was a show jumper back home so Ares and I would practice jumping hurdles till the cows came home." She smiled. "But if you were a friend that had no interest in horses, I would say my favourite thing to do is go for a drink."

"A young lady, such as yourself? What could you possibly drink that could be any measure of fun?" He laughed as she glared at him.

"I might not look like much but I can hold my own." She smiled. "When you are better I will have to show you one of my favourite drinks. It is basically a pint of ale with a shot of whisky dropped in. They call it a Boilermaker."

"Not the ladylike drink I had envisioned."

"No? Perhaps a glass of wine would suit me better?" She laughed. "I am no lady and I have little trouble proving it to you just as I did your brother."

The two talked the majority of the night. Stella watched his infection determining that the best course of action would be to cut away the dead and infected skin before stitching it closed.

"It is going to hurt, more than I think you could possibly ever imagined. I have never actually done this but I saw it done once and I don't think it will be that hard." She fibbed a little.

She had seen it done several times but mostly on television dramas. In her first aid class they had said that an infection would spread as long as there was viable tissue to infect. If the infection spread he could loose his leg. She really didn't have a choice.

"Do it then."

"Not tonight. It is late and I am tired, if I start now I could mess up and that would be worse for you than living with the infection for a few hours so I can catch up on some sleep." She justified.

She turned back to Eowyn. There had been no change in the woman's condition and Stella was becoming increasingly worried. She applied another cold towel to her forehead and checked for a pulse again. It was there, stronger than it was before and it provided slight relief for Stella.

"Even if you cannot hear my voice, I'll be right beside you. I promise." She whispered into Eowyn's ear.

She briefly made contact with Legolas before finding a more comfortable resting position in between the two cots.

'Please don't let either of them die tonight.' She begged silently.

She was unsure whom she was asking to watch over them but hoped some divine power would protect them.


	34. Steady Hands

Stella awoke in a room flooded in light. It was not the same room where all of the injured had been taken, the room she had fallen asleep in. She sat upright in shock and looked around. She was on a feather-soft bed with a sheer canopy overhead. She saw men's clothing resting on a chair and looked down at herself, her boots and pants had been removed. There was a loud crash from another room and a slue of profanities before the screaming turned into a language she could not understand. Stella stood up to investigate and saw a soaked Aragorn, clothed in only a towel, leaning against a metal tub and clutching at his foot.

"Morning Sweetheart." She laughed out. "Everything alright?"

"Hello. I didn't see the damn table there." He grunted still tending to his foot.

"Oh dear! Do we need to amputate?" Stella asked with a laugh.

"Amputate?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"You know, cut it off?" She asked again as she moved closer.

"I think I will live but I did want to give you a few more hours of sleep. You had a late night. I came to get you and saw that you were asleep at Eowyn's feet and I figured you would be more comfortable here." He explained.

"That was very considerate of you, but I am sure Legolas, Théodred and Eomer do not approve. I was given strict instructions to stay by her side until she wakes up." Stella whispered as she leaned into Aragorn's strong frame.

She placed a small kiss on his chest before wrapping her arms low around his torso.

"Legolas did seem rather upset with you."

"He blames me. I knew Eowyn was going to be fighting and I didn't tell anyone. But then I left and I still didn't tell anyone, with all of the commotion I just forgot. I thought Eomer was going to kill me, even Legolas couldn't talk to me."

"Stella, I am sure that they were mad when you told them because they were looking for someone to be mad at but anyone could see that she intended in fighting for her people. I knew and I spoke to her no more than five times. I am sure this will all be over shortly." He comforted as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I have to cut off a man's leg today." Stella whispered. "Well, not the whole leg but the really bad parts are making him worse and I have to stop it from spreading."

"Which man?"

"That's just it. It's Boromir's brother. Now I will have held both of their lives in my hand. I can only hope this one has a better outcome."

"I want to talk to him before you do anything, I will go with you." Aragorn declared.

"Than you had better but some clothes on Mister. I am going now." She laughed as she walked out of the room to get dressed.

Ten minutes later the couple made their way for the large room that held all of the injured. Stella repressed a shiver as she entered the cold room. It was easy for her to pick out Eowyn in the room and she knew that Faramir was next to her. Legolas was sitting next to Eowyn when they approached and Stella shot him an apologetic glance as she ran her hand over Eowyn's forehead gauging her temperature. She was better but not by much and her unconsciousness was becoming worrisome. Stella turned her attention to Faramir on her left and have him a weak smile.

"Faramir, I would like to introduce you to my husband, Aragorn. He would like to talk to you a little before I start cutting away at you." Stella laughed without humour. "I am going to find some tools and things and I will be back and we can get started. Sound good?"

"Thank you, Lady Stella. I will be here." Faramir responded quietly.

Stella nodded before trotting off in search of alcohol.

"People are going to start thinking I have an alcohol problem." She muttered to herself.

"People do not need to know your alcohol consumption to think you have problems." A familiar voice called from her left.

Stella turned sharply to be face to face with Eomer.

"I have lots of problems, alcohol just happens not to be one of them." Stella quipped with a sour face. "Have you come to kill me because I would rather you would just get it over with. I have people to take care of, your sister included."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because of yesterday. I don't think I have ever seen someone so mad." Stella justified.

"I hate what you have done to my family but I will not allow my life to be destroyed because one girl could not be bothered to care for her friends." He growled.

Stella rolled her eyes and attempted to contain her anger.

"You must have known that she wanted to fight. I refuse to believe that you did not see her fire." Stella stated before turning back to the crates she was looking through.

She gave up in her search and moved away with Eomer trailing after her.

"If you are going to keep following me around I will need you to lead the way to the booze. Don't act as if you don't know where the pub is, damn soldiers."

He grumbled something unintelligible but led her to a small building with several greasy men lay unconscious from the previous nights indulgements. There was a man standing behind the counter busying himself with cleaning spotted glassware.

"Excuse me, Sir?" Stella called politely from the opposite corner of the counter.

"We aren't hiring." The man called in a gruff voice. "I've got too many girls selling themselves in here as it is, I don't need to be paying one to serve drinks as well."

"I'm not looking for a job I'm looking for a drink." Stella called, fighting the urge to leap over the bar and throttle the man.

"Bit early ain't it?" He asked as he moved his way closer to her.

"Well I like to start early and by the time night comes around I find it a bit easier to sell myself." Stella deadpanned. "I need a bottle of the strongest stuff you got, the stronger the better. I'm also going to need something a bit more refined, a whisky or something."

"I've got something but trust me missy it ain't for young lips like yours." He stated in a gruff voice, moving closer to her and staring down at her chest.

"Do you see that man over there?" Stella asked calmly as she pointed over at Eomer.

The man nodded before looking at her again.

"It's for him. See we were planning a bit of a party and, well, he needs something to loosen himself up, if you know what I mean." She whispered leaning in closer giving him an ample view of she cleavage.

The man nodded again before turning around and grabbing a large bottle of a clear liquid from the shelf behind him.

"This will do the trick all right." He barked out, catching Eomer's eye from across the room. "And this, is the finest whisky you'll be able to find in the city." He pulled another slightly smaller bottle out and handed it to her.

"Thank you sir. Now, about payment, Eomer come over here! How much do we owe you?" She asked draping herself over Eomer in an incredibly unladylike fashion.

"Thirty." The man grumbled, looking at Eomer for payment.

"Pay the man, Eomer!" She cried happily.

Eomer looked stunned by her actions but said nothing as she ran her hands over his shoulders. He handed the man several coins and Stella grabbed his hand before rushing them out of the pub and around the corner. She quickly dropped his hand and moved away rushing back to find Eowyn and Faramir again.

"Would you care to explain to me what that was?" Eomer asked as she twisted past the crowds of people.

"I needed something, I got what I needed. You helped." Stella responded in an exasperated tone. "He thought all women were whores and it wasn't going to get me anywhere to correct him so I played it up, besides you needed to pay either way, I don't have any money."

"You could have told me."

"Didn't know it was going to play that way till I got there. Besides, you wouldn't have gone with it if I had told you." She justified. "Just get over it! I used you to get something to help a very sick man. If you are going to be mad, be mad but stop asking dumb questions."

She stopped in front of Faramir and Aragorn and coughed slightly.

"Sorry, but I need to start now. I have no idea how long this will take and I don't fancy cutting at you in the dark. Do you want me to tell you about what I am going to do or would you rather me just go about doing it?"

"From what I understand you are going to be cutting something off my leg but not all of it." Faramir responded, looking up at her curiously.

"Well that's the idea of it." She paused rolling up the leg of Faramir's pant. "See this part, where it has turned slightly blackish? That part is all dead and it wont do you much good anyways, so I am going to cut that off and then sew it all back together. No more wars for you for awhile but maybe it will give to a chance to sit down and write a little something." She smiled. "This is going to hurt but I got you something to numb it and hopefully make you slightly more comfortable. You may want something to bite on so I brought you this." She held up one of the many towels she had brought out.

"For the pain, I bring drink. A few shots of this and you will be down for the count."

Faramir grimaced as he took the glass Stella offered him.

"Now, Eomer has decided to be my shadow for the day so he gets to hold your legs while I'm working and Aragorn is going to hold your shoulders. You have to be still while I do this because if I screw it up you may never be able to walk again." She cautioned.

She uncorked the clear liquid and grabbed one of the daggers she kept with her. She carefully washed and disinfected every part of the blade and most of the handle. She poured a generous amount on her hands and began cleaning them as well.

"Okay, I'm going to start now." She warned.

She nodded towards Aragorn and Eomer to hold him still. She took a large deep breath and made a firm cut into the decaying flesh. She almost stopped at the feeling of skin beneath her blade. Faramir clenched underneath her but remained still. She saw the infection spread further across and deeper down than she had imagined. Stella looked up at Faramir's clenched teeth and grimaced.

"It's going to take a while." Stella whispered.

"Just do what needs to be done." He muttered through clenched teeth.

Stella merely nodded before going back to her work. The infected flesh acted differently from the healthy part, it was almost squished when she applied pressure, causing Stella's knife to be less effective. After an hour of cutting, prodding, and agonizing screams she realised there was still more to do.

"Let's take a break. I think you need more of this." She handed him another serving of whisky. "How are you holding up?"

"Are we finished?" He asked quietly.

"I would say we have about half more to do and then I have to stich you up. The good thing about that is that you are going to have a giant scar. Women love scars, it gives men an appearance that they are really tough." Stella explained. "Ready to start again?"

Faramir nodded as he lay his head down again. Stella began cutting away again as soon as she was sure Aragorn and Eomer had a strong hold on Faramir. She cut away for another hour and a half, continually pouring small amounts of water on the area to clear the blood and puss that had accumulated.

"All right!" She finally declared. "That's the best I can do. Faramir?" She questioned in a sudden panic.

There was no response.

"Faramir! Why didn't you tell me he passed out? Jesus Christ! Faramir, Wake up!" Stella screamed as she shook the man violently. "Shit! Shit! Shit!"

She quickly tore open the light shirt he was wearing and pressed her ear to his chest. She could hear nothing.

"Move!" She bellowed as she began compressing on Faramir's chest. "Wake up, you big lump! Wake up!"

After ten minutes Faramir slowly began to open his eyes again.

"I thought you died! What the hell? Stay awake!"

Faramir nodded sluggishly.

"Are you done?" He asked weakly. "What happened?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to close you up and that will only hurt a little when you compare the two. Boy! I thought that only happened in the movies! I guess you were in a lot of pain, your heart stopped for a minute there."

Stella grabbed the string she had soaked in the alcohol hours before and quickly thread it through a sterilized needle that had also taken a two-hour bath in alcohol. She moved quickly to prevent Faramir from passing out again. Stella grabbed the two sides of the cut she had made and pulled them closed and with crude precision she placed several large stitches. She knew it would leave a horrid scar but figured it was more important to stop inflicting pain on the man.

"Done!" She cried over Faramir's screams. "It's over!"

She took a deep breath before taking a large swig of the whisky and handing the bottle back to Faramir.

"Legolas?" came a weak voice from behind Stella.

Stella spun as if on caters, with a look of complete shock and disbelief on her face. She knew that voice.

"Eowyn?" She asked in disbelief.

Before she could get a response Legolas suddenly leaned down and placed a passionate kiss on her lips.

"Yes!" Stella cried before breaking down in tears with a huge smile on her face.


	35. Highs and Lows

Stella almost collapsed on her friend as reached down to embrace her. She slowly righted herself, her arms still clinging around Eowyn's neck. Tears rushed down Stella's face; there was no stopping the waves of emotion she felt. She had nearly pushed Legolas to the ground in her haste to Eowyn's side.

"You big dum-dum! I thought you had died! You had us all so worried!" Stella finally managed to yell through the sniffles. "Never again, do you hear me? I don't ever want to see you in that stupid armour ever again! I love you too much to see you be hacked away by some monster!"

"I promise." Eowyn rasped

Stella had to be pulled away by Aragorn after several minutes and still wept into his shoulder when she was separated.

"I'm just so happy." She wailed. "I can't stop! Oh God, I could dance or sing. I'm so happy! Celebration! We need to celebrate!"

"You want a celebration?" Aragorn asked with shock clear in his voice.

Stella nodded.

"It's a statistical improbability that we have made it this far. Every time we have been out matched but we still survive, that calls for a celebration." She explained as she wiped her eyes and nose on the hem of her tunic. "Besides, did you see that kiss? That was not a nothing kiss, that was a celebration kiss."

"Then you shall have a celebration." Aragorn whispered before he placed a searing kiss on her lips.

Stella leaned into the kiss and mumbled something incoherent. As they broke apart Stella wrapped her arms around Aragorn tightly.

"With a kiss like that we will both have a celebration." She whispered with a twinkle in her eye. "I don't need a big thing, I just want good food, good drink, and good people. Oh and I'm going to teach you a dance!"

Stella composed herself quickly and turned back to Faramir.

"Okay, so I'm just going to wrap your leg and then you should probably get some sleep. And me and you," she looked directly at Eowyn. "We need to talk."

An hour later Stella and Eowyn were fully immersed in their own world to understand much of anything going on around them. Stella was vaguely aware that the injured had been moved out of the large hall but was other than that oblivious.

"How big was it again?" Stella asked in shock.

"Larger than anything I had ever seen before." Eowyn responded as she held out her hands to give a rough estimate of the flail she had been bludgeoned with.

"No wonder you were out for so long. I'm surprised you don't have worse than a broken leg. Tell me more about the battle. I feel like I missed so much and you know Aragorn, he won't tell me a damn thing because he thinks I will overreact."

Eowyn chuckled.

"I don't remember much to be honest. I remember Théoden falling and I went to help him, the next thing I remember is a faceless black cape swinging that thing at me. And then it's black."

"Shit. I don't even know what to say."

"Stella, I chose to fight. I chose to put my life in danger. It may not have been what I was expecting, but I am alive and I did what I knew to be right." Eowyn insisted as she grasped Stella's hand. "I live with no regrets."

"Eowyn, what if you had died? What about your family, your brother, your cousin, my brother, me? Can't you see the selfishness of your actions? It would have destroyed them. I am glad that you are living without regrets, it just pains me to think I might have lost you, that your family might have lost you." Tears welled up in the corner of Stella's eyes.

"You looked so happy when I woke up. Where did the happiness go?"

"Oh don't you worry! I have plenty of happiness for this day. I am just sorry that you won't get to learn the dance I want to teach Aragorn and the others. I think it will be especially funny to see Gimli pick up on it. I wonder if he is truly as nimble on his feet as he claims." She laughed.

"All that and more!" Came a gruff voice from behind Stella.

"Ah, but it still lacks that of an elf's!" Quipped a smooth voice.

The girls laughed as they heard the pair break into an argument over dance ability. Stella turned to see Legolas approach them with purpose.

"I have given you the time you asked for to talk to Eowyn alone, but I could stay away no longer." Legolas declared as he moved to grasp Eowyn's free hand, beaming down at the woman that still lie on the cot.

"Right well, she's still pretty weak so the bunny thing will have to be put on pause for at least a week." Stella advised with a wink at Legolas.

"Bunny thing?" Eowyn questioned with a frown.

"Oh you know the saying, _'multiplying like rabbits'_? Is that not a thing here?" Stella asked her brow furrowing slightly.

Legolas turned a vibrant red colour and Eowyn was desperately looking anywhere but Legolas.

"Sorry. Did I like embarrass you guys or something? Come on we are all adults here, right? I mean, Legolas, you are like a thousand or something! Are you trying to tell me you have never done the horizontal tango? The sideways samba?"

"Elf mating practices are slightly different from your traditions, Stella." He explained calmly with his face as bright as a tomato. "The binding process is taken very seriously."

"Are you kidding me? You mean you've never? Either of you? Really? Good God what a boring life! What I mean is, it's a personal decision and I commend you on your self control?" It came out sounding like a question and sent Gimli into a fit of laughter. "Stop laughing! It's not nice!" Stella scolded.

As Gimli worked to recover his composure Legolas continued to talk to Stella, slowly recovering from his former embarrassment.

"We came to tell you that your celebration will be starting soon. Aragorn wanted to tell you himself but he found himself incredibly busy ordering the cooks to make something special." Legolas informed her.

Stella laughed the hardest she had laughed in a long while.

"And he said the power wouldn't go to his head! Oh well hope there is a good salad or something! I'm going to get slightly cleaned up. I think these pants have seen just about everything, they are stained beyond belief! Maybe I will wear that dress you lent me, the dance looks better in a dress anyways." She giggled as she turned around and headed out the door.

Not even thirty minutes later Stella returned to the hall and saw that it had been transformed. Rather than the cold white walls that reminded her of a hospital there were candles that cast a warm glow over everything that was only further accented but the roaring fire in the hearth that was once empty. There were tables upon tables of food and drink and every table was crowded with men and women. The tables acted like an edging for a large open space in the middle of the floor. Stella understood this immediately to be the dace floor. Everyone looked elated, even some of the ones Stella recognised had been lying in a cot only four hours earlier. She made a beeline for the table with her friends and family with a large grin firmly in place.

"I love each and every one of you and I don't think I say that enough!" Stella grinned as she leaned in to Aragorn's side.

"Well you know we could never turn down a party." Pippin stated with a rather smug look as a pint of ale was placed before all of them.

"Wait don't drink those just yet! I am going to make them out of this world, and into mine actually." She laughed as she grabbed a bottle of whisky and several cups. "Okay! I am going to give you each some of this and then the trick is to pour it into the ale and down the whole thing."

Pippin, Merry, and Gimli looked excited while Gandalf looked on with amused curiosity.

"Ready, one, two, three!" Stella cried as she dumped her liquor into her drink and raised it to her lips and began to chug.

As she lowered her glass she looked around and noticed that while she had finished her drink quickly she was not the first to be done. Gimli stared at her smugly and she burst onto laughter.

"You win this one, my friend, but don't think it's over yet!" Stella cried. "Okay now this dance I was telling you about. Seven years of forced dance class could never teach me this one. I'm going to go over and see about the music situation and Merry, Pippin, I expect you to be the first to learn this dance."

Stella trotted off and found the group of men playing what looked like fiddles.

"Hello! My name's Stella," She greeted warmly. "I have this song that I want y'all to play but I doubt you'll know it. Now I can't actually play an instrument so I'm going to have to describe it to you. What do you think?"

Each of the five men nodded their agreement and Stella beamed. After about ten minutes of finagling and explaining the men seemed to know the tune of the rather simple, yet integral, song.

"Thank you so much!" Stella gushed as she walked away.

The band struck up the blugrassy tune and Stella began to gesture over to Merry and Pippin. They both rushed over and proudly stood on either side of her.

"Alright, just follow my lead. I'll start off really simple." She let the music flow over her as she closed her eyes and remembered the night she learned this dance.

_"If it hadn't been for cotton-eyed Joe, I'd be married long time go. Where did you come from where did you go, where did you come from cotton-eyed Joe?"_ She muttered as the song picked up speed.

Stella hoisted her skirts and moved forward slightly. She took and experimental rock step backwards before swinging her hips into it and dosey doeing around the floor. With her hands on her hips and her feet swinging on either side of her she felt totally content. After only several moments of watching her Merry and Pippin were soon at her side moving at a pace almost quicker than her own. It was not long before some other people that had gathered to watch joined them. It was not until the song came to a close that Stella finally took a rest, breathing hard.

"Just as fun as I remember it!" She exclaimed. "I learned that dance my first night at Uni. In this small cramped room and too many people to count. What did you all think?"

"Certainly the fastest I have danced in a while!" Merry commented as Stella embraced him.

"Where did you learn such a dance? It seems to be one that belongs in the shire." Pippin stated with gusto.

"Well, one very warm night in August, I went to this party. I had only been in the town for a day and I didn't know anyone and I really didn't know the dancing, but this one girl took pity on me and taught me the dance and introduced me to all these people. We were attached at the hip after that." Stella beamed as she recounted the night. "I took traditional dance classes for a good part of my life when I was younger and failed miserably. I think the problem is that I'm kinda shaped like a prepubescent boy so the whole sexy 'shake your hips thing' never really worked for me, and I refuse to be a bunhead."

"And these 'bunheads', they are undesirable?" Théodred asked tentatively.

"No, it's just a lot of this." Stella paused as she stood up and waved her hands over her head while she twirled on her tiptoes.

"You look like you are trying to swat a fly." Eowyn stated with a laugh.

"Well, I suppose it looks good if you knew what you were doing." Stella justified as she sat back down.

"You were muttering something when we started dancing. I think it was something about being married?" Merry asked.

"Oh those are the words that go along with the song. Not the most sophisticated I grant you but they are catchy."

"Tells us all the words! Come on, lass, now is not the time to be shy!" Gimli shouted still smug from his winning the drinking game.

"I am not shy. Just give me a moment." Stella argued as she silently berated herself for muttering the words in the first place. "_If it hadn't been for cotton-eyed Joe, I'd be married long time go. Where did you come from where did you go, where did you come from cotton-eyed Joe_?"

"I don't believe I understand." Legolas commented.

"I thought you knew by now? There will always be things you don't understand about me." Stella smiled. "Just as I will never understand the age thing around here. You all do realise I'm the youngest around here by at least twenty years? If we were at my home." Stella turned to stare at Aragorn. "While our marriage wouldn't be illegal, everyone would think I'm gold-digger."

"I will be forever grateful that we are not in your homeland." Aragorn murmured as he bent down to place a soft kiss on her lips.

"Yeah, yeah, me too, cradle-robber!" she giggled as they broke apart.

Aragorn's brow furrowed at the expression but refrained from voicing his curiosity. The celebration continued late into the night and Stella laughed her way through most of it while she saw Aragorn deal with the responsibilities of ruling. Mostly people came up to him to thank him or advise him and with each new person coming up to him advising him on the 'situation in Mordor' Stella's laugh only became louder. As the tenth man walked away with a smile on his face, believing that he had helped the King with some important military strategy Stella finally raised her voice on the issue.

"Why do they even bother coming to you, don't they know this whole thing is over? From what I heard the scum-buckets have all run home and will stay there for the foreseeable future. Just leave them there to rot away!" She exclaimed.

She turned away slightly before she caught the almost pained look on Aragorn's face.

"This is over right?" she asked, suddenly alarmed.

"Stella, we need to fight just one last time, if we attack their home we can distract Sauron from Frodo and Sam's course. This could all be over in a matter of days." Aragorn justified.

"Bait? You want to use yourselves as bait?" she turned to look at every member of her table before turning back to glower at Aragorn. "What was the last thing I told you? Don't do anything rash! This is the exact opposite of that! You are going to get yourselves killed! All of you are completely mental! You were going to let him just do this?" She turned her glower to Legolas. "Oh yes! The world is going to end if I let your girlfriend fight a completely necessary fight, but if my husband decides to throw himself to the wolves that's all fucking peaches and cream!"

Stella could feel her pulse increasing as she continued to rant. She felt as if every pair of eyes in the room was fixed upon her yet she was unable to break the stare she fixed her brother.

"I need to leave, I can't breathe." She gasped finally before turning away and storming out through the doors.

She could feel Aragorn's presence before he spoke and she quickly spun on her heels.

"Tell me this wasn't your plan." She demanded softly. "Tell me Gandalf thought it would be best. Tell me anything, lie to me."

"Please allow me to explain." He started quietly.

"No, I can't let you explain to me why you are so willing to senselessly put yourself in harms way. This will never make sense!" She screamed as she turned down another hallway.

Her pace quickened as she saw the door that marked her room.

"When?" She asked simply, realising she would not be able to sway his opinion.

"We will leave for the wall in two days time." He answered quietly, his nose brushing up against her hair as he moved to embrace her.

"Where am I expected to be?"

"I had hoped you would stay here." Aragorn stated.

"You always hope I will stay behind, and this time I will. But you need to know one thing, you are not allowed to die." Stella worked hard to put a smile on. "And in the mean time, before you willingly make yourself bait, you are not allowed to leave this room. If I have to stay here while you are fighting then we are going to get as much quality time in as possible." Stella let out a loud sound of pure aggravation. "I need to smash something!"

She suddenly lashed out at the nearby table that held several candles. She grabbed the edge of the table that chucked it across the room with a shout before turning on the bed. Stella grabbed at the covers and pulled them across the floor. She saw only red as she started pulling at the bulky drapes that covered the large windows. Letting out another cry she began stomping on the candles that lay strewn around the floor.

As she slowly started looking around at the havoc she had inflicted on the room she realised she was breathing hard and slowly lowered herself to the floor. Aragorn still stood in the centre of the room looking shocked and rather aggravated. Stella slowly ran her hands through her hair before she looked up at him.

"I want my mom." She admitted quietly.


	36. Impossible Tasks

Aragorn let out a frustrated sigh as he moved to sit next to Stella. He said nothing as he stared off into space, leaning his back against the wall. Stella stared at a random spot on the wall as she let out a deep breath of air.

"Don't go." She whispered without much enthusiasm. "How many men will I have to watch walk away from me to fight? How many will never return? The first couple of times were easier, I had no idea what to expect. This time, I know what could happen."

There was a long pause, in which they both stared blankly at a spot that marred the otherwise perfect marble.

"I have to go. I have to give Frodo a chance. I need to do this." Aragorn finally whispered.

"I understand. I just want you to stay, with me, and be safe." She whispered as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "This too shall pass." Stella murmured and entwined her fingers with his. "And we shall all be the better for it."

Aragorn kissed the top of her head before hearing her whisper.

"Play a game with me?" she asked.

"What game would we play?"

"Pretend, pretend that you won't be leaving in a couple of days, pretend that we are on our honeymoon, pretend that we have never seen death or known fear, pretend that you are my husband and I am your wife and we have no responsibilities save for those to each other."

"That sounds like a very happy game." Aragorn smiled.

Stella shifted her position so that she sat on Aragorn's lap with her legs straddling his hips. She placed feather kisses over his exposed collarbone.

"Hush," she murmured into his neck, "I'm pretending!"

For Stella it seemed as if the days blended together and passed far too quickly. On the day of Aragorn's departure Stella requested that his Armour be sent up to their room so that she could dress him. She slowly placed a chainmail shirt over his head with a small grimace. She took her time smoothing out any chinks in the shirt before moving on to secure a shoulder piece under his armpit. With each piece she secured onto his body she placed a small kiss there.

"I love you. I won't waist my breath trying to convince you to stay now but I will tell you to be safe and come back." She spoke with authority.

"I will always come back to you. I will never leave you." He assured her.

"Good, because I will always need you." She smiled, "Now about your hair, it seems a bit long, don't you think? Maybe I could tie it back or something?" She suggested with a small giggle.

Stella finally decided on braiding the front pieces of hair back and securing it with the rest of his hair.

"You sit there." She gestured to the floor by the bed. "I'll be here." She stated as she situated herself on the still warm bed. "Keep your head still and don't fidget." She commanded with a smile.

Her hands moved quickly as she twisted his hair with expert ease.

"When I was younger I took care of these two little girls that lived next door, Emma and Jasmine, Emma loved for her hair to be braided. Every time I went over she would ask me to make a new design." Stella remembered with a grin. "Those little girls were the sweetest kids I had ever met. Okay, I'm done, though I wish I could keep you here for the rest of forever."

"I will be back soon and then we can start the rest of forever." Aragorn justified with a small smile.

Stella merely nodded as she turned around to hide the tears in her eyes. The couple walked in silence as they made their way horses where Legolas and Gimli were waiting for them. A pair of MacGyvered crutches supported Eowyn, it seemed she and Legolas were having an equally hard time saying goodbye. Stella heard Eowyn's soft commands to return home safely and smiled, she was glad to know she was not the only one scared for their success.

Stella and Eowyn stood together as they watched their loved ones set off to, what Stella believed to be, almost certain death.

"Eowyn, I need to tell you something." Stella stated as soon as she was sure Aragorn was out of earshot. "But you need to keep it a secret I haven't told Aragorn yet. I'm not even sure if I'm right but I have this feeling and I was trying to do the math and I'm pretty sure."

"Just tell me!" Eowyn cut her off as she moved to lean against the wall.

"I think I may be pregnant." Stella rushed out, letting the words hang like a lead balloon.

"I thought it was not possible. You have a medicine that prevents such things." Eowyn insisted as she searched her friend's eyes for a clue.

"I thought it was close to impossible. I mean, I knew there was a slight risk but this wasn't supposed to happen."

"Why haven't you told him?" Eowyn asked in shock, looking back at the retreating figures.

"Because I don't know for sure, and telling him now would only make him worry. I didn't want him to stay here because he felt guilty and then it turn out that I was wrong about this whole thing anyways."

"You will tell him when he gets back, right?"

"If I'm right about this then I will have to tell him at some point. But I have this idea. When he proposed I joked about knitting hats for babies, I want to knit a hat and show it to him when I know for sure." Stella explained.

"Why do you think you are," Eowyn paused, "In your condition?" She finished finally.

"Well I was thinking about a couple of nights ago, at that party, I usually love the smell of ale. But that night I could barely take a small sniff without thinking of dirty socks. I only drank that first drink but couldn't bring myself to drink another. I remember my mother saying something about when she was pregnant all the smells she loved would smell inexplicably foul. Anyways, that made me start thinking about it and I did the math and I think I'm about a week late."

As Stella explained Eowyn's eyes grew larger and larger.

"I'm not really upset about it but I am rather worried about timing. I mean this is possibly one of the worst times I could think of to bring a child into this world." Stella finished with a grimace.

"If there is one thing I have learned, it is that there is never an bad time to bring life to the world." Eowyn encouraged, "especially during a war, I child would be a sign of hope when all else has lost value."

"But it would be safer if my husband were home and there was no great source of evil attempting to bring the roof crashing in." Stella argued with a smile. "Either way I want to get started on this hat, will you help me?"

"Yes," Eowyn beamed. "This is something I should be very good at given my level of mobility."

"A sitting task for the both of us will be welcomed. I think I might even get Faramir to help seeing as how he is bed bound for another few weeks at least." Stella laughed as she helped Eowyn up and supported her through the halls.

Stella had listened to Eowyn's directions specifically to find the woman that sold the yarn and needles she needed. The old woman's shop was little more than a small hole in the wall filled to the brim with different coloured yarns in different stages. Stella got lost in selecting colours and needle sizes and found she was bonding with the old woman.

"Well, my dear, the selection of yarn all comes down to its purpose. A pair of socks need a thinner needle and finer thread, while the thicker yarns and needles are best used for a jumper." The lady explained in a sweet voice.

"Thank you, I don't believe I ever asked your name?" Stella asked in a soft voice that she reserved for babies and the elderly.

"Dorothea, my dear, and there is no asking about you. Everyone is talking about the woman that has our new soon to be king so enamoured." The woman grinned in a friendly manner. "So, sweetheart, what are you making?"

"A hat, but I need it to be softer than any other. Something that would not irritate new skin." Stella explained as she ran her hands over spools of yarn in search for the softest.

"A baby? Oh, my dear, yes a baby prince I'm sure." Dorothea suddenly gushed as she placed her hands on Stella's stomach.

"I'm not entirely sure yet." Stella absently brushed her hands over her stomach. "But as I think about it more, I find myself wishing it to be true."

"Oh, my dear, yes I have just the yarn you will need. We can talk about colour later. If I don't have the colour you want we can make it." She comforted her.

Dorothea lead her to the very back of the store there a small section of the finest yarns Stella had ever felt.

"Yarn fit for royalty!" Dorothea pronounced with a proud grin.

Stella ran her hand over every colour in the selection trying to pick the perfect one.

"I do not know if I could ever pick just one colour. They are all so beautiful."

"A baby needs more than a hat to stay warm in these winters. Perhaps you do not need to choose." Dorothea stated with a smile.

"Yes, I could always enlist Eowyn's help, I am afraid my kitting expertise falls short of much more than a simple hat." Stella laughed.

Dorothea smiled but Stella could see there was something on her mind, a plan hatching.

"Perhaps." Was all she whispered as she bustled around the store looking of a chair for Stella. "Oh a baby! I still remember the day each of my children were born. Frank, my husband, was simply beside himself each time."

"How many children did you have?" Stella asked.

"Seven all together, three girls and four boys. They all have their own families now. My boys are off fighting." Dorothea elaborated softly.

"My prayers are with them." Stella whispered.

"Yes, well I find other things to occupy myself with." She trailed off cryptically.

After several hours Stella had finally decided on a hat in soft lavender and booties in light green. Dorothea also insisted on a pastel yellow for a jumper she insisted on making. Stella also picked out needles of ever shape and size, unsure about which ones she would need for each task. She left the shop feeling incredibly confident that not only was she pregnant but that this child would be the most loved child.

"Eowyn, how long do you think they will be gone?" Stella asked with a slight whine in her voice.

Aragorn and the rest of the army had been gone for two days and with every day they heard no news Stella became more and more anxious.

"I have already explained to you that they would wait to approach the black gates in the morning. If all goes well they should be back by tomorrow." Eowyn explained exasperatedly.

"And if they fail?" Stella asked.

"If they fail we would hear about it." Eowyn comforted.

"I'm sorry I just absolutely hate waiting." Stella justified.

"My dear, I believe it would be best if you stepped away from the window and worked on something." Dorothea suggested with a smile. "Worrying does little good."

"I have already finished the hat I was working on. I don't think I have ever finished a project so fast. It must be all the worry, it keeps me up at night and this is what I do to try to will my brain to sleep."

"Perhaps you could start on another project then? Something for yourself perhaps." Dorothea suggested.

Stella sighed but reluctantly moved back to the armchair she was sitting on.

"How do you do it, act so calm when you know they are out doing something dangerous?"

"Practice, my dear, you will learn it in time."

"I wish I never have to." Stella mumbled.

"Perhaps you never will."

Dorothea had come up for the past two days to sit with Eowyn and Stella and help them with their respective projects. It turned out that Eowyn had quite a knack for learning intricate patterns and stitches while Stella needed slightly more help and occasionally made such a mess of whatever she was working on that the whole thing needed to be taken apart. However Dorothea had the patience of an angel and stood by Stella, correcting her with unfailing diligence.

Just as Stella had resigned herself to a new project she saw out of the corner of her eye a flash of red and she quickly moved to see what had caused it.

"Did you see that? I think it was a volcano! Oh my God, I hope everyone is alright!" Stella cried as a new wave of emotion hit her like a tonne of bricks.

Though Dorothea tried to help Stella back to her seat she would not move. She could not allow herself to be torn away from the window, which had become her lifeline to Aragorn. As long as she could see the blurs of red and orange on the horizon she knew he would be okay.

Stella stayed glued to the window for another full night and day before she heard the cries of people returning. It was then that her feet could not carry her fast enough. Tears streamed down her face as she rushed out of the large doors that she felt had kept her hostage for the past four days. Stella quickly wiped her eyes and nose with the back of her hand before running of in the direction of shouts. From what she could tell they had won, but it was unclear how many they might have lost or who was injured.

"Aragorn? Aragorn!" She cried at the top of her voice, catching some looks from bystanders.

She continued to shout his name until she could finally see him. She burst forward, with a speed she did not know she possessed, crashing into his arms.

"Oh thank Go-." Aragorn placing a rough and passionate kiss on her lips cut her off.

"I told you I would return to you. Now we can start the rest of forever." He whispered, as they broke apart.

"Forever." Stella intoned as she reached back up for another kiss. "There is something I need to tell you."

"What is that, my love?" he asked with a smile.

Stella grinned as she took his hand with her free one. She slowly opened his palm and placed the small purple hat she had made in the centre. Stella watched as Aragorn's eyes went from confusion to excitement to shock in one swift movement.

"But I thought," She started, still gasping for breath.

"So did I, but I did the math. I'm sure, besides I can just feel it." Stella justified with a grin. "You are going to be a father."

It took him a moment but it was not long before Aragorn spun Stella around with a laugh.

"You will make a terrific mother." He pronounced finally.

"And you will make a wonderful father." Stella agreed.


End file.
